Unexpected Glee
by thekeyunderthemat
Summary: Glee story set on the future based somehow in Life Unexpected and its characters. Eventual Faberry. Rachel bumps into Lux, a foster kid who's applying for emancipation, and their lifes sort of come together after that.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own neither Glee nor Life Unexpected.**

**A/N: So this is a story I've been working on and off for a year. I love both shows and one day I just made the connection in my mind. Hope you like this. ****This is set in the future for Glee characters and it's a little AU from Life Unexpected. Eventual Faberry. This is one hell of a monster chapter, so please tell me if I should continue with this story and give me time to complete the next monster chapter.**

Rachel Berry got it all. She got out of Lima. She got into NYADA and started working at a young age in Broadway. Then everything happened: the movies, the TV shows… She could really say that her dreams had become true.

You see, two weeks ago she was still in New York, performing in a huge theatre in Broadway. Right now, she's sitting in her car in Columbus, waiting for her dad. He is buying her daddy's favorite chocolates – some kind of prickly pear chocolate covered he discovered in their tour around Europe - which are pretty difficult to find in the States, but they know they'll be greatly appreciated after his next chemotherapy session.

"Hey, kiddo." Hiram Berry comes back from the shop and the brunette jumps in her seat startled. "It's chilly out there."

She smiles tiredly. "Dad, I'm thirty two; I'm not a kid anymore."

"You'll always be my kiddo." He puts his hand on her shoulder.

The brunette huffs and shakes her head. "Did you get dad's chocolates?"

"Yeah. I got five boxes."

Her eyes widen for a second, though it shouldn't surprise her. The chocolates are rare and they have to drive two hours to get them. "Store them before Daddy sees them. He'll want to eat them all tonight."

He laughs and Rachel smiles. It's nice to see him laugh, the occasions are becoming rare.

The brunette starts the car again and moves slightly forward, still looking at her dad's smile, though it suddenly freezes and his eyes widen. Rachel looks forward and puts her foot on the brakes.

"Oh my god." She's out of the car in a second and approaching a blonde girl down in the pavement. "Are you ok?" She grabs the girl's arm and helps her back on her feet, while examining her.

"Are you freaking crazy? Were you even watching where you were going? You could have killed me!" The blonde rearranges her wool hat and puts her arm out of the brunette's hand. "Let go of me."

"I'm just making sure you're ok. You feel good? Nothing broken? You may be feeling a little bruised in a while."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm ok." She finally straightens herself and raises her head. She's about Rachel's height.

Rachel is a little shocked. Something in the way her eyebrow arches and the twinkle in her deep brown eyes remind her of something, or better said someone. "Do you want me to drive you to a hospital?"

"I said I'm fine!" She says again, frustrated. "But… actually, could you give me a ride?"

"Yeah, sure. It's the least I can do. Where to?" Rachel says a little more relieved watching the total function of the blonde's body after the crash.

"I'll guide you." She grabs her bag from the floor and goes straight to the back seat of Rachel's car. "Hey." The teenage girl says as she closes the door.

"Hello. Are you ok?" Hiram says looking back.

"I'm fine." She shrugs. Meanwhile, Rachel gets back on the driver seat and starts the car. "Turn right at the next street." The brunette nods and sees the blonde fastening her seatbelt.

"What's your name, sweetheart?" Rachel's Dad asks from the front seat, trying to lighten the mood and create small talk.

"I'm Lux."

"Nice to meet you, Lux. I'm sorry we almost got you killed there. I'm Hiram, and this is my daughter, Rachel Berry."

"So it wasn't the shock – turn left – you really are Rachel Berry. Hmm, my… my friend is a huge fan of yours."

"Yeah? That's nice." Rachel smiles looking at her through the rearview mirror, though Lux looks around avoiding her gaze. "Do I keep going straight forward?"

"Yes."

"And where are we going, if I may ask?" Hiram turns around again, pretty curious.

"Social services." He arches an eyebrow, trying to figure out if the girl is in trouble. "I need to get down a few papers. I'm applying for emancipation." She explains nonchalantly.

"Oh, really?" He's even more interested now.

"Yes, sir. I'll be sixteen tomorrow and I'll finally be out of the foster care system. I've got a hearing scheduled and everything." She says proudly and Rachel smiles at her.

"You don't like your foster home, Lux?" He asks.

"My parents gave me in adoption right after I was born and I've been in the system ever since, so I've been in dozens of fosters homes… I figured now that I'm old enough, I can take care of myself. It won't be harder than living in some of those houses." She finishes saying in a somber tone. Hiram doesn't want to press and gives her a sad look that Lux doesn't like receiving. She doesn't want to be pitied. Rachel bites her lip.

She looks around. "Hey, Rachel. You can stop wherever. It's right here."

"Oh, okay."

As the car comes to a stop, the teenage girl gets out. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Berry. Thank you for the ride, Rachel."

Rachel waits a second and exits the vehicle with a CD in her hands. "Hey, wait." She calls.

The blonde turns around and raises her eyebrow. She watches Rachel scribble something and then hands it to her. "For your friend."

"Do you always carry one of your own CDs?"

The brunette chuckles. "Not really. That's my daddy's car, but I figured I can replace the CD. I'm really sorry for almost running over you."

"Thank you." She smiles gently; then turns around and into the building.

"Take care of yourself, Lux."

The blonde turns around again and nods. "I will."

"So, what you are saying is…" The judge says as Rachel slides through the door and into a seat in the back of the room. "You want emancipation, a sixteen year old girl. You don't have a job; you haven't even finished school yet. Where are you going to live, Lux? What are you going to live on?"

"I've saved up some money, judge Harris, you can see it in there. I have almost three thousand dollars in the bank. And as soon as I'm granted emancipation there's a studio not far from my school..."

"I'm sorry, Lux, but it isn't enough. No landlord would rent a studio to a minor without someone to cosign it."

"I thought that was the point of me getting emancipation, that I wouldn't need someone to cosign it."

"I'm afraid that's not how it works."

"I'll cosign her rent, your honor." The brunette at the back of the room surprises even herself shooting up of her seat. Lux and the judge look back. Lux's brown eyes widen and Rachel can swear she reads a 'what the f…' from her mouth before the judge speaks again.

"And who are you, if I may ask? How do you know this girl?" The judge puts her glasses down to look at her.

"Oh, we met the other day. And I'm Rachel Berry, ma'am"

"Rachel Berry. As in the Broadway actress?"

"Yes, your honor."

"And what are you doing in Colombus?"

"Your honor, after some things changed in my personal life, I moved back to my hometown, Lima." She says without giving more details.

"That's a two hours drive, Miss Berry."

"Yes, it is. But Lux mentioned her hearing for emancipation was today and… I was curious." She smiles fondly in Lux's direction.

"So, Miss Berry… would you take care of Lux's situation?"

"Yes, your honor." She answers really fast.

"Ok." She puts her glasses back on, turns to her papers and then speaks to the blonde. "Lux, I'm not granting you emancipation. Not only your living situation wouldn't be possible, but your birth parents didn't sign the release of their parental rights."

"Damn." Lux curses.

"You, instead, will be in the system a little more, but if your social worker thinks is best and Miss Berry here still wants to take care of you, you will be under her temporary custody."

"What?" Lux says. The judge is rearranging her papers and preparing to leave the room and as she looks back she sees Rachel sitting down and looking around, trying to spot the social worker.

As the woman leaves, Lux is on her feet and quickly by her new social worker's side.

"Lauren, what was that all about?"

"I told you, it would be difficult they'll grant you emancipation." The woman just says apologetically.

"And what the hell is with Rachel Berry? I don't know her and neither does she. Does the judge not mind what I think? She lives in Lima! My whole life is here." The blonde is clearly frustrated. "You can't do this to me, Lauren."

"Both my job and the judge's is to do what we think is in your best interest, Lux. You are a minor. Rachel Berry has a very good reputation and she really could take care of you financially."

"But… but I barely know her."

"And you would barely know anyone who would want to adopt you, Lux. You need to give it a shot."

"Whatever." The blonde takes her bag, puts her wool hat on and leaves the room.

"Hello, are you Lux's social worker?" Rachel watches Lux rush out of the court.

"Yes, I'm Lauren Hart." She shakes her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Berry. If you would like to accompany me to my office we can discuss this thing, if you are still interested, that is."

"Of course. But call me Rachel." She's aware that she took the decision to stand up without giving it much thought, but she would really like a chance with the strangely familiar girl. "Lead the way."

Lux gets to the house when it's already dark. She could have taken the bus, but she really needed the walk back home to relieve her frustration. As she opens the door, she finds the room empty. A look to her right and she finds all of her things and a note.

Leave the key in the vase when you leave.

"I guess I should have waited to be emancipated before telling them to suck it." She whispers to herself.

She takes her things as she can and walks down the street, stopping at the phone box and starts calling.

"Come on, Bug. Pick up, pick up, pick up." But the call ends up unanswered. As she hangs the phone up, she discovers the machine has kept her money. She punches the phone and winces a little bit. "Where is my change?"

She opens her bag and starts searching for some more coins. She finds Rachel's CD. She just opens it without thinking: 'To Lux. Good luck with your life. Love, Rachel Berry.' Attached to it, there is a card and 'call me' is scribbled by her mobile number.

"Hello?"

She takes a deep breath at the familiar voice and finally answers. "Rachel? It's Lux."

"Where are you?" She sounds scared, she has to give her that.

She gives her short directions and it's not even 10 minutes before the brunette parks right in front of her.

"Hey. Are you ok?" Rachel says as she gets out of the car.

"Never been better." She says as she stands up again and puts her arms around herself again.

"Get in the car. I'll put your things in the trunk." The brunette concludes.

"I'm not disabled." She feigns annoyance.

"No, you're just freezing. Get in the car, the heat is on."

She grumbles something and enters the car, immediately thanking god for the heat. It takes Rachel only a couple of minutes to get Lux's couple of bags in the trunk and then she gets back into the car. The brunette tries to remain silent, waiting for Lux to make the first comment.

"What were you doing still in Colombus?"

"Well, I had lunch with your social worker, Lauren, as we went over the requisites for you to come live with me for a while… if you want to." The blonde is still annoyed, but she can't help feeling good about the consideration of what she may want. "And then went shopping." She takes a look at the girl in the other side of the car who is watching out of the window. "I just was waiting around in case you would contact me."

"The judge put me in your custody, didn't she?" Rachel starts driving out of the city.

"Yes, but well… she can't force you under my custody if you don't want to."

"Guess tonight is either that or sleeping in the street."

"Well, I hope you change your mind and decide to stay longer."

The ride back to Rachel's house is silent, only disturb with the humming of the radio. Lux keeps staring out the window to the blackness and Rachel looks ahead, concentrated on the road. As they enter Lima, the blonde girl looks around wondering where the brunette lives.

"Do you live with your parents?"

"No." She says shortly. She clears her voice and continues her answer. "I moved back here because of my father. He's ill. Cancer. I left my job on Broadway and got one as a teacher in my old high school so I could be near, but I couldn't give up my independence completely, so I bought a house."

She switches on the indicator and finally stops in the driveway of a little house. When the brunette stops the engine, the girl is already out of the car.

"It's little, but I think it'll be enough for the both of us."

Rachel grabs something from her pocket and hands it to the blonde. "Here." She gives her a key. "I think you'll need it."

"I'm not staying for long." Lux says coldly.

"Lauren said it'll be a couple of weeks before the judge accepts having another hearing. And you still haven't your parents' right release. I'm not sure how other foster homes are, but…"

The blonde girl huffs, grabs a couple of bags from the trunk and walks to the door, opening it with her key.

Rachel follows her with the blonde's backpack and finds her in the living room.

"Where am I going to sleep?" Lux asks quietly.

"I'm afraid that tonight you will have to sleep on the couch. It's a pull out." She indicates the couch.

She drops her bags to the floor just where she's standing. "Fantastic."

"You want something to eat? I'm going to order pizza. What do you prefer?"

"I'm not hungry."

"Oh, so that in the car wasn't your stomach?" She likes teasing her a bit but just because she is acting like she doesn't care about anything at all.

"Ok. Whatever…" She ignores her, sitting on the couch tiredly.

"You'll need to be more specific. I'm vegan, so I'll order the vegan pizza. If you don't want it, I suggest you tell me what you want."

"I don't eat meat. So yeah… whatever." She reminds something and grabs her bag. After searching for a while, she comes up with what she was looking for and walks towards the kitchen, where Rachel is finishing on the phone.

"You need something?"

"Yeah. Can I have a glass of water?" The brunette is surprised by her polite tone, but that's just a confirmation that the mean I-don't-give-a-damn face was just a façade.

"Sure." She points to a cabinet and the blonde grabs a glass from it. She fills it up and takes a pill out of a little bottle. "What's that?" Rachel asks.

The blonde stops before putting it in her mouth. "A pill."

"I can see that." Rachel takes a step forward. "What kind of pill?"

"Relax. I don't take drugs. It's a prescription." She finally puts in her mouth and swallows it with water while looking at Rachel. "I had a heart condition." She explains, not sure what is making her tell this to a total stranger. "I was born with a hole in it, things got a little complicated in general, and I spent my first years in a hospital. That's why nobody ever adopted me. People use to like to adopt babies and when I was done in the hospital I was almost six."

Rachel relaxes and drops her eyes to the floor. Suddenly ashamed of herself for coming so quickly to believe she was taking drugs.

"Now I need to take a pill every night for the missing proteins or whatever because I don't take meat very well, but for the rest, I'm fine."

"I'm sorry I doubted you."

"Don't worry. You think foster kid… troubled kid…"

"No, and that's not an excuse. I don't know why I thought that. For all I've seen from you, you are not a troubled kid."

"Oh, I'm way more troubled than you think." She just murmurs.

"I'm going to call my dads, to check on them while the pizza arrives, okay? Oh, I totally forgot, I have two dads. I hope you don't have a problem with that."

"I knew it, it's cool."

"Cool." She grabs the phone and dials. Lux walks back to the living room and entertains herself looking around, though she hears bits of the brunette's conversation.

"Hey. How are you doing?...Yeah?... Do you need me to come over?... Oh, okay."

She sees a picture of Rachel and her two dads smiling to the camera. She moves forward and finds a picture of just Rachel in an elegant dress on the red carpet by a curly haired boy, both grinning stupidly to each other.

"Yeah, yeah… I went back to Columbus, that's another reason why I wanted to talk to you guys… Why would you ask if… Yes, I went to that hearing… No, she's actually here with me… You heard just fine. No, you are not deaf."

Next is a picture of a much younger Rachel. In the picture there are a lot of people, everyone wearing matching dresses and suits. A mohawked boy has a trophy in his arms and everyone else seems to be celebrating. Rachel is actually embracing a blonde girl in a celebratory hug.

"I don't think I'm crazy… No, no daddy, she's not like a fish, if she's hungry she'll tell me or grab something for herself…"

Lux chuckles, but doesn't seem able to stop watching the last picture and only does so when the doorbell rings.

The blonde girl opens the door and sure enough, the pizza is there. The same mohawked boy in the picture is now in front of him, though he's let his hair grow in a more usual hairstyle.

"Hey. Where's Rachel?" He says. His eyes never leaving her.

"She's on the phone." She eyes him warily. "Rachel?" She calls from the door.

"I'm Puck." He extends his hand.

"Lux." She says without touching his hand. Suddenly the brunette is by her side.

"Hey Noah."

"Hey, Rach. I was down by the pizza place and Finn asked me to deliver this to you." He hands her the pizza. "What's a teenager doing in your house?"

"Long story. If you don't mind Noah, I'll tell you all about it another day. Over a beer?" She hands him a bill and shakes her head.

"Sure thing." He smirks. "Enjoy the pizza."

"Have a good night, Noah."

They sit around the couch and turn on the TV while they eat some pizza. Suddenly, something on the TV makes Rachel jump and run for her huge purse. She takes out a little package and hands it to Lux.

"Happy birthday." She says with a smile.

Lux's brown eyes glaze, but she tries to cover it looking down to the package and tearing the paper down.

"I don't know anything about you yet, so it's just a dvd, my favorite movie, which I think every person should own."

"You didn't have to… but thank you." The blonde says, wearing a smile the brunette has never seen before.

"I wanted to. You're welcome." The brunette answers and sits again by the blonde on the couch. "So… what do you want to do tomorrow?"

"I need to go back to Colombus. I suppose I need to talk to Lauren and go to school."

"Ok. I'll drive you in the morning. I have to talk to Lauren too. We figured out today if I'm suited for sustaining a teenager, but now that you're really here I figure I have to sign some papers." She grabs her phone and texts somebody.

"I told you this is temporary." Lux says drinking from her glass of water.

"Yeah, you said that, but for the time being you have a house here, so I want to have everything in order." Her phone beeps. "I already talked to a colleague and he'll cover from me tomorrow." She closes the pizza box and takes it to the kitchen.

At 6 am, the alarm clock in Rachel's bedroom goes off and the music starts pouring from the iPod dock station.

"_This is the first day of the future and all I want is you…"_

Rachel gets out of bed and goes about her typical routine. She exercises in her room and then showers. She comes out of the bedroom and finds Lux pressing a pillow to her head, trying to block the noise.

At the brunette's chuckle, Lux appears from down the pillow and looks at her annoyed. Rachel has the decency to look back apologetically.

"I'm sorry Lux. That's my morning regime. I'll use headphones tomorrow morning, ok?" Lux groans and buries her head in the couch again. "You sleep well?" She only hears a groan back. Rachel starts the coffee machine and watches it slowly pour. "Want some coffee?"

This time the groan is in a higher pitch, so she thinks the answer is affirmative. The blonde finally rises from the couch and grabs her bag, going for the bathroom.

"So... I'm going to take a shower, is that ok?" The blonde asks.

It surprises Rachel. "Of course. I don't want to live with a smelly teenager. The clean towels are in the closet, top shelf." Lux rolls her eyes and goes in the bathroom.

As the brunette chops some fruit for breakfast, she thinks in all of the things that would change in her life if this was a permanent fixture, if Lux would accept to live with her permanently. Yes, it is probably the thing she should have thought in the first place and although now she's freaking out a little, she knows she's ok with this decision and she'll make it work.

"I can't believe your refusing to acknowledge that Barbra Streisand is the best singer to ever walk this Earth and! She is also a great actress." She can't put her foot down because they're busy on the car pedals, but she slaps the steering wheel for emphasis.

"I just think it's a very categorical statement, you have to give me that. There are many good singers out there and I just don't believe that Barbra is 'the best'." The blonde air-quotes; her legs on the dashboard as they ride back to Columbus. "Just think about Adele, for example. _Never mind, I'll find someone like you_." She starts singing a little bit.

The brunette actually turns her head for a second and raises an eyebrow at the almost perfect pitch and sweet voice.

"What?" Lux catches her eye and puts her feet down. "I might not be the winner of two Tony awards and a Grammy but I know how to carry a tune."

"You said your friend was the fan, but you seem to know my achievements pretty well." The blonde rolls her eyes and neither confirms it nor denies it, so Rachel leaves it for now and carries on with her discussion. "Besides, have you ever heard a song as difficult as 'Don't rain on my parade' sang so beautifully?"

"As a matter of fact I think you sounded better in that Sectionals performance video that's gone viral from your high school years." She smiles triumphantly.

Rachel turns her head once again to look at her and give her an appointed look.

"Damn!" The smile disappears. "Okay, it's true. My friend is also a fan but she became one when I didn't stop playing your first album." Lux is more saddened by the confession that Rachel had expected.

"Hey, that's ok." She says gently. "I promise I won't let it go to my head." She chuckles to herself.

The blonde shakes her head. "No, it's not ok… I'm living with my idol." The statement in a devastating tone.

"Sounds like a reality show." It still seems kind of funny to her, but Lux is more frustrated by the moment. Rachel looks ahead, to the road. "But I don't think this is it, honestly." Lux finally looks at her. "We are not on TV and I'm not doing this because of the fame."

"You're right." She nods. "And anyway, it's not like this is permanent." She looks back through the window. They're reaching Colombus already.

"Well, I'm doing what I can. So it's up to you." Rachel says and although she feels the brown eyes on her she keeps staring straight ahead.

"Why are you doing this?" The vulnerability in her voice makes Rachel look this time.

"Honestly? You intrigue me. It's as if I already knew you. I just want to protect you and be there for you." Rachel thinks aloud.

"I don't need protection." Lux answers a tiny bit annoyed.

"I know." Rachel states matter of factly.

The blonde looks at her again with sad eyes and finally gives her a tiny smile.

Rachel enters the office with Lux behind her and greats the young social worker. "Good morning, Lauren."

She leaves the documents on her desk aside and greats them. "Good morning, Rachel... and Lux. So, you finally spent the night at Rachel's house?"

"Yes…" She says lowly.

That doesn't sound very bad. In an occasion she has came shouting into her office to get her the hell out of a foster house. "That's good. So you like your new home?"

"No offense, but she lives in Lima. My school, my life is here."

"I was thinking maybe transferring her to McKinley High in Lima? I teach there. And as for your friends… it's not that far and there's always weekends."

The blonde is about to answer, but Lauren intervenes first. "Lux, I think your best option is staying with Rachel for now. You've already been to almost all the foster houses in Colombus. You weren't comfortable in neither of them."

"Why can't I be granted emancipation?" She crosses her arms and pouts for a moment like a little kid, but goes back to her annoyed look after a second.

"You heard what the judge said, Lux. You can't support yourself." The social worker starts listing the reasons.

"But the money I've saved up…" The blonde tries to interrupt.

"And your birth parents didn't sign the release of their rights."

Lux shuts her mouth annoyed.

"You should go to school, Lux. I'll arrange things for Rachel to take care of you for a while and then we can try again to place you in another foster home or apply for emancipation, ok?"

Seeing this was going to be the best answer she would get today, Lux grabs her school bag and exits the office, closing the door as she does. Outside there's none else. It's pretty early still in the morning and Lauren's secretary might have gone to the coffee shop across the street to fix herself some caffeine.

Lux goes behind the secretary's desk and stands in front of the file cabinet. She opens it slowly as to not make too much noise. She inspects the folders and finally catches the one with her name on it.

It is easy. It's one of the first pages from the file. The release of rights, with her birth parents' names on it, unsigned: Quinn Fabray and Noah Puckerman.

"Noah… Puck… could it be…?"

The door rattles and startles Lux. She grabs the page and tosses the rest of the file back in the cabinet. The woman takes of her coat by the door and doesn't notice Lux sliding from behind her desk.

"Good morning, Mrs. Arlington. I was just going to school."

"Oh, have a nice day sweetheart."

"So, tell me. How were things last night?" She asks now that they're alone.

"I think they went pretty good. She called me and found her with all her things in the street. We went to Lima and I show her the house. We had dinner and talked a little bit before going to bed."

"Sounds good. Do you think this is going to work?"

"I don't think she'll be accepting me anytime soon, but it won't be because I'm not trying."

"She won't be accepting anyone. She wants emancipation, but I just don't think a judge will be granting it to her anytime soon."

"I'll have her as long as she wants to be there."

Lauren smiles. "Your change amazes me. Just last year you were on Broadway, talking about signing a new contract for two more years and now you're back to your hometown, working as a teacher in the local high school and wanting to foster a sixteen year old. I'm sorry, but I have to say… it is pretty weird."

Rachel takes the social worker's expression and feels like she can open herself to her.

"You know? It is. If I'm being honest, all of this freaks me out a little. I don't belong here. Or at least, I've always thought I don't belong here. I came back because of my parents. One of them is dying."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Yeah. He's been fighting cancer for a long time now. I always managed to come back and forth from New York, but I got tired. I want to be here for him. Not only for him, for my Dad too, and for me. Then I looked for a house and I found myself looking for something big enough for two persons, maybe three. You know?"

"Most people given a certain age, start thinking about another goals: marriage, kids, a family."

"Yes, I think that'll be the short way of saying that. And then I met Lux. I don't know what it is about that girl, she's special, she reminds me of someone…" Rachel wonders for a second.

"You're right. She's a pretty special girl."

Rachel and Lauren share a smile.

"So, I'm going to retrieve Lux's file and I'll talk you through the general stuff." The social worker leaves the office and comes back just a minute after.

"I have to do a home inspection, to assure your house is suitable for having a teenage girl living with you." She says as she re enters the office. "How about Monday?"

"Sounds good." She bites her lip distractedly thinking of all the things she has to prepare.

Lauren opens the file and starts reading aloud. "Elizabeth Lux..."

"Wait, Elizabeth?" Rachel stops her.

"Yes. Her name is Elizabeth, but the first thing she told me when I became her social worker was: 'My name is Lux'." She chuckles.

"Beth…" She mumbles to herself. The familiarity the brunette was feeling. Could it be? Rachel gasps. "Does it say there who her birth parents are?"

"Yes, it does… But it's not information we give freely, you must understand." She passes one or two pages. "Huh. It's weird. The right release form is missing." She passes the same pages back.

"I do. Believe me, I do." She has to know. "Is there any chance you could confirm me a few facts, though?"

"I can try…" Lauren says tentatively.

"She was born May 15th 2010, yesterday was her birthday, in Richard M Ross Heart Hospital in Columbus around six in the afternoon."

Lauren's eyes widen as she looks down at the documents. "Yes…"

"Oh, please. Are her parents Quinn Fabray and Noah Puckerman?" The social worker does not answer, but her eyes speak for her.

Rachel closes her eyes and is taken by hundreds of images of a blonde cheerio. The sway of her hips, her tight ponytail… the tears she spilled when Sylvester and the rest of the school found out about her pregnancy, the broken eyes she wore every day since the one when her father kicked her out…

Then the flashes of the few hours she's been around Lux. Her blonde hair, her beautiful smile, the way she raises her eyebrow to make a point, her brown eyes…

"Do you know them? Is this going to be a problem?" Lauren asks worried. The brunette's eyes are glazed now.

Rachel's mind is spinning a little bit, but it stops so she can shake her head. "No. No, no. Not at all."

To be continued


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own neither Life Unexpected nor Glee.**

**A/N: I'm so glad you liked that first chapter. Now let's keep the things rolling. Quinn is still not in the picture and I've got a couple of ideas for her in this alternative universe, but I would like to read what you think: where would you like Quinn to have ended up and doing what.**

**Anyway, hope you still like this next chapter. Just let me know.**

"Hey, Lux. What's up with you?" A dark haired girl approaches her at the school entrance. "Where the hell were you yesterday?"

"I…" She looks around. "Things didn't go as planned, Tasha."

"What? What happened?"

"They didn't grant me emancipation" She says gently.

"Why? You're the one with the money in the bank and the brighter future." She takes her hands to her head. "We're screwed. If they didn't grant you emancipation, they're not granting me emancipation either."

"When's your hearing?"

"Monday." She shakes her head. "Wait, but you didn't answer my question. Where the hell did you go to yesterday?"

"I needed to clear my head. I walked back…"

"Wow, that's a lot to walk."

"Yes. And when I arrived, all my things were in the hall."

"Assholes." The brunette shakes her head and fists her hands. "So where did you sleep?"

"They didn't grant me emancipation, they placed me with Rachel Berry."

She huffs. "Now, that's imagination, girl."

She chuckles. "It is true. She almost run over me with her car the other day and she appeared yesterday in the hearing. She said she would take care of my situation and the judge offered her temporary custody."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Nope."

"So you're living with a famous person. That's got to be cool." She loves the excitement in the little brunette that has her almost bouncing.

"It would be… if she didn't live in Lima."

"That's like two hours away from here!" She ponders. "And what are you going to do? Are you going to ask for another placement?"

"I… I can't. My social worker says this is my best option for the time being and…" Lux says nervously.

"What else, Lux? You know you can count on me." She asks seriously.

"Yeah, I know." She smiles. The blonde reaches for her backpack and shows her the form she stole. "My birth parents didn't sign the release of rights."

"And what does that have to do with anything?"

"Yesterday Rachel ordered pizza and the pizza guy introduced himself as Puck. But she called him Noah." She tosses again the paper in front of her and she reads the names.

"Shit. So is he your father?"

"Seems that way." The blonde bits her lip.

"And your mother?"

"I don't know. I just got her name. But I figured Rachel may know her too. And even if she doesn't I could ask him." Tasha nods. "Rachel wants to transfer me to the high school there." Lux pouts. "But she has promised me I can come on the weekends."

"I understand, Lux." She hugs her. "You've got to know. I'm going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you too."

Tasha pulls back. "Have you talked to Bug yet?"

"No, I haven't. He didn't pick up the phone yesterday when they kicked me out."

"He better understands or else I'm kicking his ass."

Lux hangs onto the brunette's girl arm and pulls them both into the school.

It rings once, twice, three times… She's almost given up hope, but finally Kurt picks up in the other side.

"Hello, Rachel. How are you? How's your dad?" He asks.

"Hey. I'm fine and he's… fine, in between sessions. How are you?"

"Fine. Now, what are you calling me about? You're transparent, sweetie. Sometimes I wonder how you're so good on stage."

She takes a deep breath. "I was wondering… you kind of, kept tags in all of the members of Glee club… what's everybody up to?"

"You called me to ask me about the people in glee club?"

"Yeah?" Yes, she is transparent, but Kurt won't make her tell him things if she doesn't want to.

"Well… as you know Finn is still in Lima. He basically runs my dad's car shop now and he has opened a pizza place on the main street. I really don't know what the relation between his two businesses is, so if you find any, please share." There's a pause and Rachel can imagine him in his kitchen drinking coffee as he goes over the morning newspaper while still filling her up in all the gossip.

"Puck lives above his bar with Matt. That's a weird bromance they have going on."

"Yeah, yeah…" She's getting a little bit impatient. "What about the girls?"

"Rachel, are you wondering what happened with someone in particular?"

"Mm, no… I just wonder what happened to my childhood friends…" Oh, he knows.

"You already know… Mercedes moved to Florida, where she is a dentist and she has just told me she's expecting!"

"Oh my god. She didn't tell me! That's great!" She tries to quiet her reaction for the sake of the rest of the customer's in the store.

"Tina and Mike moved to Seattle. Tina is a doctor and Mike has a dance school. They are doing great and have now a three years old son, Lucas."

"Oh my, it's been so long since I last spoke to them. Please, give me their number later so I can give them a call."

"Sure." Kurt sips his coffee. "Brittany dragged Santana to LA. She's doing some choreography stuff there and Santana is kicking asses in court."

"I hope she doesn't use that line about razorblades in her hair there." She chuckles.

"Well, I would confess to that." They laugh nostalgically.

"And what about Quinn?"

There's a pause in the other line. "You always had a soft spot for that girl, didn't you? After everything she put you through."

"She apologized for everything and I forgave her."

"Yeah, but still." Rachel hears another sip on his coffee. "I know she went to Yale to study something boring like economics, but she changed her mind and her major to literature. Still boring, if you ask me, but more of a passion."

"She did always have a book with her. It used to drive me crazy when I saw her reading during Glee."

"Well, that's the last I heard about her."

"Thank you, Kurt."

"You're welcome, Rachel." There's a plop on the other side and Rachel is pretty sure that the mug is now empty. "Anyway, just know you can tell me anything, ok?"

"Ok…"

"So when you figure out whatever you need to figure out, just call me." Kurt says. "Preferably when it's a decent hour in here."

"I didn't wake you up, did I?"

"No, my alarm had just gone off."

"Good. Send me those phone numbers later, ok? And I'll call you. Have a good day, Kurt."

"You too, star."

She hangs up and lets her phone fall into her purse as she keeps wondering through the store.

"Can I help you?" A man approaches her.

"As a matter of fact, yes." She points at a bed. "I'd like one of this."

"That's an excellent choice. What about the mattress?" The man invites her to try the mattress in the exposition.

"I like this one." She says as she adjusts herself. She figures that if Lux doesn't like the mattress she could always place it in her bed.

She stands up again. "I'll take the mattress too." She is about to hand him the credit card when she asks. "You do deliver to Lima, don't you?"

"Yes, ma'am." He takes the card. "Just fill this and we'll deliver it this afternoon."

The door opens and the guy behind the counter greats someone.

"Hey Adam. I thought you had class today. What happened?"

"There was a fight at the entrance. Things got ugly when one of them drew a knife." He shakes his head. "It went crazy with the cops and all, so we sent the students home."

It's not like her to overhear a conversation, but she can't help it. "Excuse me. Where did that happen?"

"Riverview High."

Rachel's eyes widen.

"Here you have, ma'am. Your deliver will be in your house sometime this afternoon."

"Thank you." She takes the card and flees the store. As she exits it, though, she comes across a girl and they both fall to the ground.

"I'm so sorry. I don't know what the hell it's happening to me. I keep bumping into people." Rachel stands up again and grabs the girl's bag and things.

"Well, at least this time you weren't in a car." The brunette girl stands up and rearranges her clothes.

"Huh?" She asks surprised.

"You're Mrs. B, right? Lux is staying with you." Rachel nods slightly. "I'm Tasha." She offers her hand to shake. "I've been Lux's friend since we were six."

"Nice to meet you." She shakes the hand. "Do you know where Lux is? I know what happened in your school. Is she alright?"

"Yeah, yeah. She's fine. She figured she wouldn't see you until the time she told you to come and get her, so she took off to talk to Bug."

"Bug?" Rachel asks. "What kind of name is that?" She tries to disguise it with a polite tone.

Tasha chuckles. "It's a nickname. He's Lux's boyfriend."

"Really?" Rachel gulps. Is she supposed to have that talk with the girl? Can she do it? Oh my god, she can't do it. "And does… Bug… have a mohawk by any chance?"

Tasha raises an eyebrow. "No, he doesn't."

"Good." She nods distractedly. "So, where are they?"

Tasha peeks at Rachel's watch. "They're probably at Bug's place, but his shift is about to start so they'll be going there." Watching Rachel's blank look she adds. "He works at the supermarket, loading and unloading the trucks and stuff." Rachel nods slightly. "I'll take you there if you want to."

"Yes, thank you, that'll be great." She answers at last. They walk in silence, but silence is something Rachel can't take. "How did you meet Lux?"

"When we were six, we were place in the same girl's home. I had just entered the foster care system and she was already there. I was pretty scared and I used to have nightmares. She would come to sleep with me until the nightmares disappeared."

Rachel smiles.

"I used to be pretty good at getting in trouble. I didn't intend to. The care taker kind of hated me and used to punish me to drink a spoonful of Tabasco." It horrifies Rachel, but Tasha chuckles. "She searched every day the hall couch for coins and when she got enough money, she refilled the Tabasco bottle with ketchup. It's the best thing somebody has done for me ever."

Rachel smiles. "She's a good kid, isn't she?"

"The best I know." The older brunette nods as they come to a stop at the back of the supermarket. Rachel sees Lux by the door and hugs her.

"Rachel? What are you doing here?" Lux asks pretty surprised. After a second look she adds. "And what happened to your hair?"

"What? You don't like it either? I think she made me look like a sucker mom and I'm not a sucker mom." She pouts for a while, looking at herself in her phone. "Anyway, I heard about what happened at your school, then bumped into Tasha and she brought me here."

"It was just a fight."

"There were knives!" Her dramatic side taken upon herself.

"It was just one, Rachel, about the time the cops arrived."

"I don't care." She finally steps back and pouts. "I was scared."

A tall guy jumps out of the back of the trunk. His hair is very short and he has a spider web tattooed in his neck.

"Hey, Tash." He smiles at her and winks her eye. "You must be Mrs. Berry." He extends his hand. "Nice to meet you."

Rachel shakes his hand. "Uhm... nice to meet you too… Bug?"

He smiles. "That's what they call me." He turns back to Lux. "Anyway, I have to keep unloading this truck."

"Uh, okay." Lux kisses him briefly and lets him go. "So, now what?"

"You need to buy something for your room or something? Ah!" She remembers something and looks in her huge purse until she retrieves something. "This is yours." She hands her an iPhone.

"Cool." Tasha says by their side.

"I already got my number in there and my parents'. Just in case, you know. This way we can reach each other anytime. Like today, for instance? So you can tell me you're safe." She nods distractedly. "Also you can add your friends' numbers and talk to them, now that you're going to be spending more time in Lima…" She looks at Tasha.

"Oh, I don't have a phone." She shrugs. "But you know you can call me at Gavin's." Her boyfriend, Rachel supposes.

"Thanks, Rachel." Lux is still looking at the phone. "It's too much."

"It's as much for you as it is for me. And I never got you a proper birthday present."

"Are you kidding? And what was with the Funny Girl dvd?"

"Yes, that was also a present, but everyone should own a copy of Funny Girl and I can't have you under my roof without one."

"Noted." She presses her lips and nods vigorously.

"So…" Rachel turns to Tasha. "Do you have anything to do?"

"Mm… not really." She answers.

"Great. How about we get some lunch and do some shopping for Lux's new room?"

"New room?" The blonde asks.

"Yeah." She nods. "We have to be home early, though. They're delivering your new bed this afternoon and we need to move some things around."

"Wow, wow. New bed? I've been in your house and I haven't seen a spare room for me to use."

"Oh, I think you're going to like your new room." She chuckles.

After a while, Lux and Rachel are in her way back home to Lima.

"Lux… Can I ask you something personal?"

"Didn't Lauren tell you all about me already?"

"No, just the basics." Rachel looks forward. It seems that all the important conversation between them, happen in a car. "What do you know about your birth parents?"

The question is followed by a great silence. Only the distant hum of the radio and the engine disturb the otherwise silent car.

Lux stays frozen, wondering what her best movement is. She could come clean to Rachel. The brunette hasn't made a wrong move as of yet for her to not trust her. She could tell her she knows that at least her dad is her friend. In the other hand, Rachel could push her away for the truth. However, why would she be asking first, though?

"I… I know their names. That's pretty much it."

"Haven't you been curious?" She asks. "I never knew my mother and I looked for her when I was sixteen. Haven't you looked for them?"

"I actually haven't had the time for it." Lux shakes her head.

"Why?"

"There have been a few times when I wondered who my parents were and I wanted to actually know. But I just got their names from the right release form today at Lauren's office."

The brunette chuckles but otherwise she still keeps quiet. Lux bits her lip for a while and finally breaks.

"The pizza guy, your friend?" She starts tentatively.

"Yeah?"

"What's his name?"

Rachel tenses. She really doesn't like that this conversation is taken place in the car. She would like to be face to face with the teenager and tell her everything. Well, not everything. It's not her place.

"Noah Puckerman." She takes a deep breath as she feels the blonde's gaze upon her. "He's not the pizza guy, Finn was asking him to deliver it as a favor. Yes, apparently he is your father."

"How long have you known?" This time the blonde asks.

"The same time you did, I suppose." She smiles. "Lauren told me this morning your real name is Elizabeth."

"And?"

"Beth." She smiles again. "He chose your name, he wanted you to have something to remember him by."

"How do you know that?"

"We were in high school together. In glee club. He sang Beth, by Kiss, to your mother. Yeah, a pretty sad song, but he liked the name. Beth, I hear you calling… nevermind, I'm having fun with my friends." She mocks. "Sorry. Anyway… I knew she complied. So when Lauren gave me your name and I knew your birth day… it all made sense."

"You know my mother?" Lux says in a quiet voice.

"I do. We went to high school together."

"What is she like?"

"I haven't seen her in almost fifteen years…" Rachel smiles looking at Lux and shakes her head. "She was beautiful, bet she still is. She did that thing with her eyebrow just like you do. In general, you two look alike, though you have Noah's chocolate eyes."

She looks at Lux and she is smiling sweetly, enthralled by the tale about her mother.

"She is a very intelligent woman." She makes a pause. "Look, Beth… I mean, Lux. I might know a lot of things about your mother and everything, but… I feel like I shouldn't be the one to tell you."

"Any chance I can talk to her then?"

"I don't know where she is. I'm sorry."

After a few minutes in silence, Lux asks again. "And Puck doesn't know yet, does he?"

"Not yet." She answers quickly. "He'd like to meet you. I could invite him over today…"

"I'd like that." Rachel smiles and nods.

"So…" The blonde looks at Rachel as she gets a bottle of water from the fridge and sips it distractedly.

"So?"

"Aren't you going to show me my room?" She crosses her arms and raises her eyebrows.

"Now, are you excited or not?"

"You'll have to tell me sooner or later where I have to sleep."

Rachel leaves the bottle on the counter and goes to the corridor. She raises her hand, pulls from a rope and the stairs from the attic appear.

"Follow me…"

Lux follows Rachel into the attic. It is pretty empty. Just an empty bookcase and a desk in one corner and a couple of boxes under the bigger window. The walls are painted in a light blue that reminds her of the sky.

"I have to move those boxes to the garage. That desk can go in the other side so the new bed…" She stands in the middle of the almost empty room. "Can go over there, under the big window. "Or wherever… what do you think?"

Lux takes the last step to the attic and looks around in silence.

"Lux?"

"This… is my room?" She keeps looking around at the big space.

"Yes. Do you think the bed would go well there?"

"Yeah…" The blonde is still looking around.

"We didn't do much shopping, so maybe we'll have to go get you something more for decoration." Lux just nods. "You're not giving me much to work here. Do you like it or not?"

"Yeah. Yes! I love it." She smiles happily. "I just never had a room for myself and this is… amazing."

The smile is another thing and it satisfies Rachel. She grabs a box. "I'm taking this down to the garage. Do you mind taking the other one down? I'm going to start with some dinner. Do you like vegan casserole?"

"I'll take that down and yeah, it sounds good."

"Cool. I'm pretty sure Noah won't like it, but I don't care." The brunette starts walking down the stairs, but the blonde calls her out.

"Hey, Rachel?"

"Yes?"

"Could you… could you tell Puck?" She fiddles with the bottom of her shirt. "I mean, you know him, right? You'll know how to tell him."

"Ok… I'll tell him." Lux nods and smiles. "Don't worry, Lux."

As the brunette opens the door, she finds the tall man with his hands on his pockets. "Hey, what's up, Rachel? You don't usually invite me over for dinner, not that I'm arguing."

"You're right. I need to talk to you about a couple of things and I promised I'd tell you about the teenager living with me."

"True. What's up with that? Is she staying for long?"

"You could say that. Now, come on. I'm going to feed you your first home made food in a month."

"Hey! That's not true. I went to my mother's last weekend."

"Oh, pardon me then." She turns to the corridor and calls the blonde. "She is decorating her bedroom, putting some photos and posters…"

The blonde gets to the living room where the table is almost set.

"You met the other day, but… Noah, this is Lux." She gestures towards the teenager. "Lux, this is Noah."

"Nice to meet you." She answers.

"Same here. Though, Rachel is the only person besides my mother who still calls me Noah." He chuckles.

"Ok, then. Puck."

Everybody take their places around the table and Rachel brings the food. They have some small talk during the meal, mostly about how Puck disapproves of the vegan diet and states the virtues of a good steak.

"Anyway." He starts after the meal, having a sip from his beer. "How did you two meet?"

"I bumped into Lux in Columbus the other day." Rachel states shortly.

"Bumped?" He asks.

"More like run over me with her car." Lux laughs.

He chuckles. "I wouldn't have. I stopped the car." She tries to defend herself.

"Thank god."

"Yeah. After that unfortunate event, I offered to give her a ride and she told us, my daddy and I, about her hearing for emancipation."

"I… am in the foster care."

"You are? So I get the hearing went wrong?" Puck intervenes.

"Yeah. The judge didn't grant me emancipation, she put me in Rachel's care."

"Poor thing…" He commiserates her and puts his hand over hers.

"Hey!" They both chuckle, but even Rachel smiles after her false angry gesture. "Anyway, that's why she'll be living here."

"So you are like… an orphan?"

"I was given for adoption when I was born, but nobody adopted me. So I've been in the foster care system for sixteen years."

"Huh… that's a long time."

"Yep." Lux mumbles, looking at Rachel for help.

"Lux, do you mind getting the dessert?"

"Sure." She stands unsure, but goes into the kitchen.

"Noah… She's sixteen years old." Rachel knows that he still keeps a photo of a baby bundle, a low quality picture taken with his phone the day that she was born. She knows he remembers every year.

"Aha…" He sips his beer oblivious.

"Her birthday was yesterday." She can't believe how clueless he is.

"That's…" Finally, some kind of understanding flashes through his eyes. Tiny, though.

"Her first name is Elizabeth." She gives him the final clue. If she was able to figure it out with those and it's not her kid, he has to be able to figure it out.

"You are saying that she…" The brunette nods. "Holy s…"

"Sssh! There are minors in this house."

"I've heard worst." Lux says walking back into the living room, leaving the bowls of vegan ice cream on the table.

Puck stands awkwardly in front of Lux, looking at her with new eyes. "You look like the Puckster." He smiles gently.

Lux raises her infamous eyebrow and Rachel points at it. "She looks more like Quinn and thank god for that."

He doesn't care. He still smiles. "The eyes though."

"Yeah, they're like yours." She confirms.

"Would you mind if…" He gestures with his arms and Lux just shakes her head, meeting him in the middle, hugging his chest.

Rachel is left with an adoring smile playing in her lips and looks at the both of them. Puck feels the brunette's eyes over him and looks back at her. His own are a little wet, but before he can spill any tears, he speaks.

"I think we should eat this fake ice cream before it melts."

Lux steps back, but Puck gets her hand and squeezes it. She smiles, the biggest smile Rachel has seen her wear since she's known her, and they sit back to finish their desserts.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own neither Glee nor Life Unexpected (I wish).**

**A/N: So sorry this took more than expected, but I had two major exams in college and really had to have some study done. After that I had my brain fried for a while and a writer's block. Hopefully the next chapter will flow better and be up sooner.**

"Good morning, Lux." The brunette says to a zombie blonde, trying to come down the stairs from the attic without falling over. Her eyes are mostly closed and she hangs to the sides of the stairs for dear life, just in case.

"Morning." She says, once she is standing again in solid ground. She tries to open her eyes with each index finger in each one, but it's in vain. Rachel chuckles and Lux turns around for the bathroom.

After a few minutes, she emerges from the bathroom with her eyes finally opened and her hair brushed.

"Coffee?" Rachel asks, grabbing a mug from the cupboard.

"Please." Lux nods and takes adoringly the mug Rachel has just served.

"How did you sleep?"

"Great."

"You really aren't a morning person, huh?"

"Not really." She smiles.

"Do you want some toast?" Rachel says getting the toaster for herself and some bread.

"Yes." She says after a while, getting up from the stool. "But let me do it." She takes the bread from her hand and puts two slices.

"I don't mind..."

"I'm not handicapped."

The brunette stops to analyze the difference between the kind gesture she's trying to do and her harsh words. She really reminds her of Quinn. Speaking of, Rachel thinks, she still hasn't got an idea what happened to her. Where in the world is Quinn Fabray?

Maybe she shouldn't intercede. It shouldn't have been a problem for Quinn to find Lux if she really was looking for her. Maybe Quinn believed her daughter wouldn't want nothing to do with her. Then, it would be up to Lux to find her birth mother and the blonde has already told her that she wants to meet her.

Maybe she should do something after all.

"What are you up to today?" Rachel asks her when the blonde pushes a plate of toast towards them.

"I don't know." She shrugs. "I haven't thought about anything. Still sleepy."

"We could go out. I'll show you around town, grab a coffee on the Lima Bean or have lunch at Breadstix. Do whatever?"

Lux shrugs again. "Sounds fine."

"Lux..." She has to ask. "You really want to find your mother?"

"Yes..." She takes a bite of her toast with strawberry jam. "I mean." She swallows. "I wouldn't have an idea where to start looking. I thought maybe you could help me?"

"Sure. If that's what you want to."

"Of course. I already got to know Puck. I now have to talk to him about signing my right release."

Rachel almost chokes on her coffee. "You are still with that idea?"

"Yeah... I've taken care of myself pretty well so far. I don't need my parents to step up now."

"I understand. Though I wish you would think differently." She sips again her coffee. After some silence between the both of them, Rachel keeps talking. "I couldn't resist before and I asked a friend of mine, the biggest gossip in school, what he knew." She shakes her head. "He lost her track once she changed majors in Yale."

The blonde pouts for a second.

"There's still someone I could try." The brunette ponders as she looks at Lux.

She raises her eyebrow. "If you don't mind..."

"Yeah. Sure. Though that's going to be an interesting conversation..." She's lost in thought for a moment. "I'll try on skype later. Will you join me?"

"Sure..." She says in a tone that doesn't seem certain at all.

Rachel leaves her coffee and the plate in the sink. "Also... I'm heading after that over to my parents'. You want to come? They'll love to see you and you already met Dad. They invited us for dinner, but I didn't know what you'll say, so I only promised a visit."

It goes a little bit into her believes of this being a temporary situation, but in the end... "It's okay. I don't mind either way."

"Right." She rinses the plate and the mug and leaves them at the side for them to dry. "I'm going to have a shower, okay?"

"Sure."

"So... who are you going to talk to?" Lux sits by Rachel's side on the couch while the brunette brings her laptop to life.

"Santana." She states fatally.

"And she is..." She encourages Rachel to complete a phrase.

"Your mother's best friend in high school, if you could call her that..." She pauses and observes how the eyebrow raises in the blonde's face. "Her relationship was pretty weird to say the least. Santana was and I bet she still is, very sarcastic and often harsh. They had a pretty epic full on fight once in the hallway..." She gets lost in her memories.

"And you seriously expect her to know where she is now." She pauses and then nods. "Sounds like they were besties back then."

"Yeah... Even after all, they still got each other's backs..." She smiles. "I'm calling Brittany, though." Lux raises her eyebrow. "Another one of your mother's friends and Santana's girlfriend. She's really the opposite. She is the nicest person; caring and pretty special." She smiles. "She says she prefers Skype because the phone is like the other person doesn't have a body."

She hits the call on Skype and after a few rings, a couple of blue eyes come to focus on the screen and after that, a blonde head comes up as she sets her laptop on the bed, while she sits by the headboard.

"Hello!" She says excitedly.

"Good morning, Brittany. How are you?"

"Great. How are you, Rachel? And who is that copy of Quinn sitting by your side?"

Rachel looks to her side and finds Lux already looking at her, raising her eyebrow.

"Special." She mutes and smiles.

"Aww, she does the eyebrow thingy and everything." She continues excitedly in the other side.

Rachel laughs. "Brittany, I want you to meet Lux. Formerly known as Beth." She finishes pointedly.

"Oh my god." She brings her hand to her mouth. "Beth!" She exclaims excitedly. "You are so grown up!" There's some noise behind her, but it doesn't disturb the blonde. "Last time I saw you, you were like this." She puts her arms like she was holding a little baby. "Oh my god..."

"Brittany!" A familiar voice screams from somewhere behind Brittany, mildly angry. "Lord Tubbington The Third has sit his wide ass in the back of my closet and won't come out. Again!"

"He likes the soft material." She just shrugs.

"Well, I don't like him to put his ass anywhere near them." She appears on the image. "Everything ends up covered on cat hair and it doesn't look professional in court." She peeks at the computer. "Hey, who are you talking to?" She smirks. "Hi, midget. Long time no see."

The brunette just chuckles. "Hello, Santana. It's nice to see you too."

"And who is the midget by your side? Seems familiar." She squints her eyes for a second and before Rachel or Lux can say anything, Brittany intervenes.

"It's baby Beth." She just says happily.

Santana freezes for a second in shock, and then sits by her girlfriend's side.

"What are you doing with Berry?" She asks to Lux, but doesn't wait for her answer. "This is freaky, Berry. Does Quinn know you have her daughter?"

"That's exactly why Lux and I." She gestures at the both of them. "Were calling for. Do you anything about Quinn?"

"Lost her track after college." Santana shakes her head and Rachel and Lux pout. "She finished in Yale and did some travelling. Last I heard, she was in New York doing some shit job and trying to get by."

"And now? No idea what she does or where we could find her?" Lux asks desperately.

"No. I'm sorry." Santana shakes again her head.

"We're just going to have to call every Quinn Fabray in the phone listings and stalk on Facebook every single one of them." Rachel looks down.

"I don't think you should look for Quinn Fabray." Brittany's comment, though apparently nonsense, doesn't go unnoticed.

After a minute or so of silence, Santana asks her. "What do you mean, babe?"

"You're not going to find her under Quinn Fabray. She changed her name." She simply states as she bites an apple.

"What?" Santana asks more forcefully, but maintaining the light tone. "What are you saying, Britt Britt?"

"Yeah. She changed her name. Again." She nods happily. "She switched it back to Lucy... something." She rubs her forehead. "I don't remember."

"How...?" Rachel starts.

"Oh, I was a fan of her writing in high school. Sometimes it would rhyme, it was funny." She smiles. "I made her promise that if she ever wrote a book, she would send me a copy. And she did." Brittany beams again.

"When?" Santana asks alarmed.

"We still lived in the old apartment." She dismisses it.

"I still don't remember the book."

She shrugs. "It was a package for me. From Lucy. But I knew it was her because of the dedication."

After watching the conversation like a tennis game, Rachel intervenes.

"Brittany, do you still have that book?"

She rubs her forehead again. "Yes. But I don't know where it is."

Santana looks at her watch. "I need to go."

Brittany grabs her arm and looks at her watch too. "Me too."

"Don't worry, Berry. We'll look for it and we'll get back to you, ok?"

"Thanks, Santana."

"Nice to meet you again... Lux. Be careful with Berry or she'll rub her drama on you." She says with a genuine smile this time. "Take care." She says to the both of them before ending the call.

"You too." She just answers.

There's a click sound and the screen goes black.

"That was... interesting." Lux comments.

"Most definitely."

"So..." She bites her lip. "They've met me?"

"Yes. Actually, we all did. We were in our regionals competition when your mom's water broke, so we all went to the hospital." Rachel says. "Only Noah and Mercedes were allowed in the delivery room. I felt bad I had to stay back for the team to qualificate - even more because we lost - and when I got back, I joined Santana and Brittany when they were going to sneak in after visiting hours. Quinn was asleep, exhausted, but we got to see you." She smiles fondly at her, putting a stray of her behind the blonde's ear. "You were so cute."

Lux smiles. But still, she is nowhere near finding her mother. She needs the woman's signature to be granted emancipation, although just the thought of meeting her birth mother makes something inside her raise with hope, as much as she doesn't want to.

Something must show in her face, because suddenly there's an arm over her shoulders. Rachel has been restraining her touchy-feely needs just because even if she feels she knows the girl, the blonde doesn't and their relation is still very new. Either way, she can't resists any more.

"Hey..." She says almost in a whisper. "We'll find her, 'kay?"

She nods lightly.

The brunette looks around and she suddenly blurts out. "Any idea what makes this house fit for you to stay?"

"You already got me a room..." She shrugs. "And I assume that smoke detector does have batteries on." She points at the little system on the ceiling.

"Yeah, I changed them last week." The brunette nods.

"Right. Also, you got me transferred to a new school from which I assume you can drive me to and from."

"Yes."

"Then you've done ten times what any foster parent would have done. I mean... most of them just take care of kids because of the money the state provides and I don't even know how they got approved."

Rachel grimaces. "I'm not after the money."

Lux chuckles and rolls her eyes. Then she get serious and after a few minutes in silence, she speaks. "Neither I am."

Rachel beams, but their little heart to heart comes to an end when Lux's iPhone chims. She picks it up and chuckles as she reads something. Rachel stares at her and literally bites her tongue. When the blonde looks up from her phone, she founds her and laughs in her face.

"Can't help it?" The brunette shakes her head. "It's Puck. He says if we can come over for their band rehearse. He says they're playing tonight, but I'm a minor and can't be in the club. And he says they are 'totally badass'."

"We can see them rehearse before going to my dads'?" She suggests.

"I'd like that." She smiles.

"So... your dad and you..."

"He seems cool. We are getting to know each other." She frowns. "Is his music any good?"

"Definitely nothing like Broadway." She chuckles. "But they have gathered some followers that keep their cash machine full and let's them pay the rent of the club."

"Are you sure we can just sneak in?" Lux asks Rachel as they are about to open the metal door to the club.

"Yes. When they're down here, they always leave the front door open." The sounds of a guitar reaches their ears. "Also, if they're rehearsing, they won't hear us knock."

"Right. You've got a point." They enter the empty club. It is dark and it seems that they are also trying the stage lighting. The lights turn from green, to blue, to red. Then a single light centers on the main singer.

"Hey, Matt. Stop it." She speaks into the microphone, trying to be heard over the music still paying that finally comes to an end. "That light is blinding me. I can't sing with that. Better stick with the general lighting, 'kay?"

Matt clicks a few buttons. "Okay. That should work now."

"Right!" A tall man, even sitting behind of the drums, yells. "From the top!"

"No! Wait." The guitarist yells now. Puck leaves his guitar on the side and hops off the stage, hugging Lux. "Hey. So glad you could make it."

Lux laughs as Puck lifts him briefly.

"I'm glad that I finally got an official invitation to one of your rehearsals." Rachel chuckles by their side. "Although I believe the invitation was more to bring Lux here rather than a personal one."

"Oh, please, Rach." The drummer stands up and comes from behind the set. "Are you going to go all glee club on us?"

She ponders for a while. "Maybe? If Sarah wanted, I could offer her a couple of advices to reach those high notes without so much effort."

"No, thanks." Puck answers for the other girl. "Everybody!" He calls out. "I'd like you to meet my daughter."

The singer waves in her direction and the bass mutes a 'hey'. The drummer, though, hops off the stage too and comes towards them.

"Hello. So nice to meet you." He shakes her tiny hand in his huge one excitedly. "Did you know that for a while I thought you were my daughter?"

"Finn!" Rachel yells at him.

"What?" He asks scared.

"She didn't know that."

"Oh, crap."

"He thought...? My mother is a slut or what?" The blonde raises her eyebrow and turns to ask Rachel.

The brunette bites her lip. "No, nothing like that. Your mom was the head cheerio going out with the quarterback." She gestures towards Finn.

"Typical much?"

"Yeah. She also was the president of the celibacy club. So one day she was feeling pretty bad, because she had some issues and his boyfriend's friend, this asshole, talked her into drinking some wine coolers and they had sex."

Both, the brunette and the blonde look at him angrily. "Hey, hey. Yes, I was a douche back then, but she forgave me."

"So she had sex with her boyfriend and his boyfriend's best friend? How did she know I was actually his?" The blonde points at his father.

Rachel looks at Finn and back at Lux, biting her lip. "No. She only had sex with your father."

"Then how the hell did you think you were my father?" Lux turns to Finn now.

"Well... I..." Finn looks around, looking for help.

"Seriously?" Rachel crosses her arms over her chest. "You started this conversation, you end it."

"I... the jacuzzi and..." He mumbles.

The blonde winces. "Ew. Stupid and... ew. Didn't you have sex ed?" Rachel and Puck can't help but laugh.

They park in the drive way and go up the porch. Rachel knock lightly in the door but opens it anyway.

"Hello?" She calls.

"In the kitchen." A man's voice answers.

Lux closes her eyes and follows the delicious smell, as well as the brunette towards the kitchen.

"Hello, again, Lux." Hiram says over the stove in the kitchen center.

"Hello, Mr. Berry." She peeks in the stove. "Damn, that smells good." She suddenly puts her hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry." After she chastises herself, the blonde tries not to laugh at his tiny pink apron with a golden star in the front, but she doesn't succeed.

"Call me Hiram. And it was Rachel's. I don't know where I left mine. I think she stole it to see me wearing hers."

"Liar. You just like it."

Hiram chuckles and shrugs. Then a rumble interrupts the sudden silence and he looks at Rachel and points at her with a spatula. "Did you feed her?"

"Hey, I'm not some animal that you feed... and she did, she did." Lux defends her. "But it's about dinner time and that does smell amazing."

"Well, if you're going to compliment my cooking that way, I won't complain."

"Just wait until you try it. That's my favorite dish, right Dad?"

"You bet."

The brunette hums. "Tempeh Vegetable Stir-Fry with curried peanut sauce." The blonde hums in agreement. "I love you Dad."

The man chuckles. "I love you too, pumpkin."

The brunette grabs a stick of carrot and munches. "Where's Daddy?"

"He's upstairs reading."

"Oh, I'll go help him down." The brunette offers.

"Can I help with the table or something?" The blonde looks for something to do now that Rachel is gone and have left her again with someone she doesn't know at all. It just lets her a little unsettled because she feels that this first impression upon them matters, that she has to do a good job. Fortunately enough, she has already met Hiram, although for a very brief moment.

"Sure. I started setting it but got busy in the stove." He turns around and points at a cupboard with his spatula. "Grab some glasses there."

She nods and starts helping. "So... The hearing didn't go as expected, I gather."

"Understatement of the year." She chuckles. "I was applying for emancipation! The last thing I expected was going home with a woman I met the day before."

He chuckles and shakes his head.

"But..." She bites her lip and Hiram brings his eyes up from the stove. "I couldn't have been placed better." She shakes her head with a sudden shyness.

Rachel appears into the kitchen with one Leroy Berry in her arm. The once tall and strong black man that intimidated Finn Hudson looks now pretty weak, but still he has a way of carrying himself that doesn't allow pity. And he's just wearing a pajamas and a flannel robe.

"Daddy." Rachel speaks. "This is Lux."

"It's very nice to meet you." He shakes her hand.

"Nice to meet you too, Mr. Berry."

"Oh, puh-lease. Don't try that non sense with me. I'm Leroy, kiddo." The blonde smiles.

"Okay, Leroy."

Hiram places a couple of plates with the food on the table. "Everybody sit. Dinner is ready."

"So, what have you been up to?" Leroy starts chit chatting at the table.

Rachel looks at Lux, silently asking permission about how much she wants the brunette's dads to know. A very slight movement of her blonde head gives her the go ahead. "Actually, Lux has been meeting people very important in her life."

"Really?" Hiram asks curiously. Lux just nods.

"Do you guys remember Quinn Fabray?"

"Head cheerio? The one who came up with insults like Rupaul or Manhands for you?" Some anger crosses his features for a moment.

Rachel winces. "Yes. The one who supported me when I suggested writing an original song for our competition and actually helped me wrote them. The one who told me that I was destined to be something more than Finn's wife. The one who thanked me in her valedictorian speech."

Leroy puts a hand over his husband's shoulder and his face relaxes. "I remember."

"Do you remember she was pregnant during junior year?" She continues now that her Dad has calmed down.

Leroy munches on some food. "No way."

"Yes. We just discovered Lux is Quinn's daughter."

"And that makes..." Hiram starts...

...but Rachel interrupts him. "Noah, the father. She already met him."

"Oh, honey. Now I understand what you meant." He puts his hand over the blonde's and they share a look.

"Now we are looking for her mother. None of the members of the glee club seem to know what happened to her."

Hiram intervenes. "You know? Her family still lives in town."

"I don't know if they'll know where she is. Last I heard, their relationship wasn't very good." Rachel tries to send a silent message to her parents with no avail. She doesn't want to explain the Fabrays to Lux. It's something Quinn has to do if she wants to. And of course, she isn't going to let Russell Fabray anywhere near the teenager. God knows how she treated Quinn even before he kicked her out.

"I'm just saying." He wipes his mouth. "Even though their relationship isn't any good, I doubt that her mom doesn't know what she's been up to." He takes sip. "It couldn't hurt to ask."

Rachel shakes her head. Still unconvinced. "I'll think about it."

"And that son..." Leroy looks at Lux. "Bad, bad person she had as a father moved out of town after the divorce."

"You do realize I'm not five, don't you?" Lux says, but nobody answers her.

That's a relief for the brunette, but still... "I'll think about it."

Lux senses the tension in the dinner table and takes out her iPhone. "Hey, have you seen this video Puck sent me?"

"Oh, please, let it be PG rated."

"It's a panda sneezing. It's so good." She plays the video as three heads turn to the little screen to see it and then go back to laughter. Tension forgot.

"Oh. There's one with penguins." Rachel says excited and then frowns. "I can't remember the name." She pouts.

The rest of the table laughs and Leroy chimes in. "Have you seen the one with the lion?" Lux raises her eyebrow. "Yes. There's this couple that adopted a puppy lion, but then it got too big for their house, so they had to let it free in Africa. They came back a year later and it recognized them!" He says excitedly. "Search for 'Lion reunited'."

Lux clicks a few time in her phone and it isn't hard to find the video the man was asking for. She sets herself so she can too watch the video this time and hits play. After the few minutes, she is a little embarrassed that she's tearing up and she tries to conceal it. However, when she turns around she can see the other three crying shamelessly.

"It recognized them! How could that happen?" The brunette gets up and brings a tissue box to the table, where everyone gets one. They replay it once again and tear a little bit more.

By the end of the second play, Rachel moves her chair closer to the blonde's and puts her arm around her shoulders. "If this people could find their lion, we can find our Quinn."

"Leroy, you've got to eat some more." They hear Hiram say after their moment.

"I can't take more, I'm sorry. I feel a little dizzy." Hiram frowns.

"Well, do you want some dessert?" He tries to animate him and make him eat some more.

"Maybe... Nah." He shakes his head.

"What? What do you want, honey?"

"Vanilla ice cream?" He says with a little boy's voice. "But I don't want to cause any trouble."

"Non-sense, honey. Why don't you and Lux go to the living room and you start showing her some embarrassing baby photos and I'll prepare some ice cream bowls? How does that sound?"

Lux stands up and goes by Leroy's side. "Oh, Lux. I don't need your help."

"Pleeease." She whispers. "I don't know where the living room is and I don't want to make a fool of myself."

He chuckles weakly as he stands grabbing her arm. "I really like her." He says to her daughter.

When both are out of range, Rachel speaks. "I take it we are out of ice cream." She stands and grabs her keys. "Don't worry, I'll go real quick to by some."

"Thank you, darling." Hiram hugs her. "He doesn't eat properly. He's too weak." He whispers.

"He's ok, Dad. Daddy is strong and I'm going to buy him the largest vanilla ice cream I can find." She squeezes him once more. "Don't worry." She stands back. "Now... you start setting the bowls and I'll be right back."

Rachel drives to the nearest seven eleven in record time, though respecting all the signals and the speed limit. She parks and enters the shop so quickly she doesn't see the woman that is about to exit.

"Ouch." The paper bag the other woman was holding is now on the floor with all of her things scattered.

"Oh, god. I'm so sorry." Rachel bends down and starts picking up things. "Is there something ruined? I'll just go in and buy a replacement."

"Everything's fine, Rachel." The other woman gets the remaining things and stands up. She offers her hand to the brunette, but she freezes before grabbing it.

"Quinn?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own neither Glee nor Life Unexpected.**

**A/N: I've been struggling a little bit, because I want to do this justice. I want to get the emotional parts really emotional. So it's coming very slowly to me.**

**Chapter - 4**

"Quinn?" Rachel takes in the blonde's appearance. She still has her blonde hair short, the way she cut it down while in New York for Nationals. She looks more mature and older, but that doesn't diminish her beauty, _au contraire_.

The blonde still has her arm towards the brunette on the floor, but she adopts now a slightly annoyed pose, raising her eyebrow. "You want up?" Finally, Rachel reacts and grabs her hand so the blonde can help her up.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." She arranges her things in her paper bag and seems ready to leave, but before that happens, Rachel needs to talk to her.

"I'm sorry I bumped into you like that. Are you ok? Did I injure you? I'm hoping everything you bought is still in prime condition."

"Everything's fine, Rachel." She chuckles. "And you haven't changed a bit. How long has it been? Thirteen years?"

"Fourteen, actually." The brunette just smiles.

"You still rumble a lot."

"Honestly that only happens when..." I'm nervous, I'm around you? She stops herself for continuing the sentence and shakes her head to move to another line of conversation. "What have you been up to? I haven't seen you or heard about you since graduation! You kind of vanished from us..." She tries to enquire.

"Oh, nothing much. I graduated from college and started working here and there." She shakes her free hand trying to distract the vague statement with fake unimportance. "And what about you? What are you doing back in Lima?"

"Well, I could ask you the same." Rachel is taking none of that and squares herself to the blonde, hands in her hips. "I didn't vanish, far from it. I graduated from NYADA and starred in various musicals. I released a couple of albums and received awards. But I still talked on the phone or on skype with my friends and more or less know what they've been up to since college."

"Are you seriously lecturing me?" The blonde looks at her through semi-open eyes and Rachel isn't sure if they are like that out of curiosity or anger. She prefers to think it's the first one.

"Well..." She starts a little bit uncertain and the blonde opens her hazel eyes and raises her perfect eyebrow. "Yes." She continues more certain and resuming her posture. "I even talked on skype today with Santana and Brittany and even they didn't know a think about you. I find that very insensitive, Quinn Fabray! ...or Lucy, whatever you go by know." She finishes.

Although the whole conversation with the brunette is been some kind of fun, the last statement manages to surprise her and her walls come up a little.

"Why were you even looking for me?" She asks with a little bit of anger.

"I'll have you know I needed to speak with you." She now crosses her arms above her chest. "Actually, I still do."

"Well, you got me here. Speak to me." She copies Rachel's posture as much as she can with a paper bag.

"So... what have you been really up to? Are you married? Any children?"

The blonde scoffs. "You wanted to catch up?" She turns around away from Rachel.

"Yes and no." She dares to touch the blonde's shoulder. "It's just a conversation starter. It's been a long time and this isn't something I could start a conversation with."

Quinn turns back again. After all, the brunette insistence has always intrigued her. "What is it, Rachel?"

Rachel takes her hand off the blonde's shoulders and fidgets with both her hands in front of her, looking down at her. "I've kind of... come across Beth." She looks back trying to read Quinn's reaction.

The blonde doesn't know where to look. She doesn't even know how to feel. She's happy to hear from the daughter she had to give away so long ago, but sad that it isn't any direct contact and that maybe she won't want to meet her.

"Is she ok?" It's the first question that pops into her head and the most important answer she needs to receive.

Rachel smiles gently. "Yes. She is very good. She looks so much like you." She stops there. The brunette needs to know that Quinn really has an interest in knowing her daughter.

"And how did you...?" Her question is interrupted by the brunettes phone.

"Damn." She shoots an apologetical look to Quinn and picks it up. "Hello? Yes, Dad. I won't be long, I promise. Bye." She pockets her phone back. "Listen, I still have so much to tell you. But I have to buy some vanilla ice cream for my Daddy's dessert and go back."

Quinn takes in the brunette's distress and her inner debate. She reaches in her purse and takes out a little card.

"I'm in town for a few days." She hands it up to her. "So call me and we can catch up... in everything."

"I'd like that very much." She takes the card, her hand lingering for a few more seconds within the blonde's hand. "Lucy Scott?" She says at loud. "It sounds really good." The blonde smiles.

"Lucy really was my real name, you know?"

"Yeah. The Lucy Caboosey poster incident?" The brunette shakes her head. "Never understood it, but I got that much." She bites her lip and hopes for the best before asking. "And the Scott?"

"It's my mother's maiden name. I couldn't keep the Fabray." Rachel's theories involved her nuptials at some point. Unconsciously, she beams at her mistaken ideas. "So, see you around?"

"Definitely. See you around." The brunette nods and turns to finally enter the shop.

Quinn, or rather, Lucy is left behind, eyeing the brunette disappearing through the automatic doors to the store. She can't believe the turn her life has taken in the last five minutes.

The blonde's feet guide her towards her car, where she seats down but doesn't start the engine. Her brain is on overload. She just met Rachel freaking Berry after fourteen years. The bubbly girl excited for the future ahead of her has grown up into a stylish woman still excited for all the things in her life. She hasn't lived in a cave for all these years, she knows about the brunette's successful career and the somehow abrupt way she left the stage.

On top of just being star struck by someone of her past, said woman also brought up someone she thought long lost, the daughter she gave up when she was only sixteen. Excuse her if her brain isn't really able to form a clear thought just yet.

As she processes everything that just happens, more and more questions pop into her head and makes her even more nervous. She can't even wait.

By the time she finally gets her head around what has just happened, she's spent half an hour staring at nothing in particular in her car. The blonde grabs her phone and shoots a text message to her mother. She gets off the car and strides back into the store. She walks around the corridors and finally, approaches the employee.

"Hello. Have you seen a tiny brunette... more or less this tall..." She gestures. "...or short. That came a little while ago in a hurry?"

"You mean Rachel Berry?" The guy says. "Man, I loved her on that TV show she was as a guest star. The one with the detective and the writer?"

"Yeah, yeah. Did she leave long ago?" She cuts to the chase.

"About fifteen minutes, I'd say."

"Thank you very much." The blonde goes back to her car and finally starts it.

"Rachel." Hiram welcomes her. "What took you so long? I was starting to get worried."

The brunette gives him the ice cream, one regular, one fake, for him to start serving it.

"You're not going to believe what just happened to me." Rachel starts walking around the kitchen.

"What, dear?"

"I just bumped into her. I seriously don't know what's gotten into me." She exclaims.

"What?" Hiram is lost in her daughter's ramble.

"I keep bumping into people." She keeps going, but Hiram just lets her get to the end before intervening again. "First was Lux. I almost killed her. Then I knocked Tasha to the ground. And now her."

"Who did you bump into now?" He says calmly at the end.

"Into Quinn!" She exclaims in a whisper so nobody can hear her from the other room. "Well, Lucy now. She changed her name."

"Oh my." He freezes.

"Yeah." She nods.

"And what happened? Did you tell her?"

"I told her I had come across her daughter, but I didn't go into any details."

"How did she react?"

"She was so shocked... She asked me if she was alright and gave me her card to call her when you called my phone and asked me to hurry up."

"Honey, you could have told me."

"Yeah, right." She fakes the conversation in a whisper. "Hey Dad. No, don't worry. I'm just talking with Lux's biological mother. It won't be long."

"Point taken." She speaks. "So what are you going to do?"

"I'll call her tomorrow morning. See if she wants to meet for a coffee and talk."

"That's good." He states and then... "Are you going to tell Lux about it?"

She stops moving. "I don't know. I was hoping for your advice." She frowns. "Remember what happened with Shelby?"

"Yes, darling. You were very sad for quite some time."

"I don't want Lux to have to go through something like that." She shrugs. "But I don't want to lie to her either." She shakes her head. "She says that she only wants to contact her mother to have her sign her right release form, but really? I bet she'd be crushed if she met her now and she didn't want anything to do with her."

"Do you think Lucy will want to establish a relationship with her? Some sort of friendship?"

"I don't know." She shakes her head. "Lux told me a couple of friends are dropping by tomorrow. Maybe I'll be able to speak with her first." She bits her lip. "But still... I don't know if I should tell Lux that she's even in town."

"I think there's nothing to tell her yet. You wouldn't be technically lying if you don't tell her. But after talking to Lucy, you've got to tell her everything, whether it's good or bad."

She's only been once in the Berry house, at a lame party the brunette hosted in high school. She remembers it was the first time she drank after having Beth and only did so after Finn swore to God that he would see to her safety. She woke up in the couch tangled in Rachel, but... she was actually safe.

She parks the car and walks decisively to the door. She has no clue if the brunette still lives there, but it's the only way she can contacts her. She knocks twice and pretty soon she hears footsteps.

"Good evening, Mr. Berry." She speaks first. "I don't think we've ever met, but I went to high school with Rachel?"

His hands covers his mouth. "Lucy?" He mumbles after a while.

"Yeah?" She says unsure. She didn't expect him to recognize her and now that he does she doesn't know what for. Did Rachel ever tell them what she put her through at first? But she just told her that she changed her name...

Hiram Berry steps back and calls inside. "Honey? There's someone here to see you?"

She hears some plates clatter a little bit and then the brunette's footsteps, until she sees her emerge from the kitchen.

"Hey. What are you doing here?" She approaches the door. "I was going to call you in the morning to grab a coffee or something like that."

"I couldn't..." She starts, frowns and brushes the back of her hand over her eyes. "I needed to know more... I had a lot of questions..."

Rachel beams, her smile showing all her teeth. She looks at her Dad, still in the hall with them and he slightly nods.

"Hey, Rachel." Another blonde appears. "Leroy and I were wondering, what's taking you so long? Where's the ice cream?" She comes to a stop and faces the older woman, raising her eyebrow. "Hi."

The older blonde opens her mouth in astonishment and examines the teenager from head to toe, biting her lip. Her eyes are beginning to tear and she can't help it. She looks for a second to the brunette, who nods her head.

"Oh my god..."

The teenager doesn't take her eyes from Quinn. She remembers the picture in Rachel's house, the blonde woman in it. It's the one in front of her.

"Rachel?" She simply says.

The brunette understands it perfectly and gives her the answer she was hoping. She clears her throat. "Lux, this is your mother."

"Hi." Lux says, still shocked. One moment she doesn't know where the hell her mother is and now, she's standing right in front of her. Excuse her if she needs some time to process it.

Something snaps and the Berrys start moving. Hiram goes back into the living room, to bring Leroy up to date in what's going on in the hall. Rachel, in the other hand, walks behind the still shocked Lucy and closes the door behind her, pushing the blonde definitely inside and snapping her too into motion.

"I can't believe you are here." Her daughter, her now sixteen years old daughter, is still standing right in front of her. The little baby she gave up when she was the same age as her daughter is now. Not so little anymore.

"I... I'm so glad I got to meet you." She rambles. "You're so big... Not big, big. Proportional." Lux chuckles. "How are you?" She aches to touch her, to hug her, but she doesn't know if the girl will be open to her invading her personal space.

"I'm fine... you know? Proportional..." She lets escape a nervous laugh and takes a step forward towards her mother. Lucy doesn't hesitate anymore and hugs her longingly and it's like a piece of her has been restored.

After a while, she lets go of the girl, leaving a kiss in her head before retracting.

"Hey girls." Hiram reappears in the hall, with Leroy in his arm.

"Aaw, that's so sweet." Leroy comments in a lower voice.

"We are going to bed now, but please, come on in and have some ice cream or... whatever." He shakes his free hand.

"Also, can we get full story in the morning?" Leroy adds. Hiram smacks his husband's arm and pushes him forward.

"Oh, we can continue this in our place." Rachel chimes in.

"Nonsense, sweetie." Hiram says at the bottom of the stairs. "Just because we can't keep up with you, doesn't mean we are kicking you out." He takes on step on the stairs, but Leroy gets left behind. He looks at him and he reads that he doesn't want them to see just how hard the stairs are for him these days. "Why don't you help yourselves to that ice cream? I think I left it out of the fridge."

Rachel gets the idea too. "Okay. Goodnight, Dad, Daddy." She gestures Lucy and Lux to go to the kitchen.

"Goodnight, Hiram, Leroy." Lux smiles to them and goes out of the room.

"Goodnight, Mr. Berry and Mr. Berry." Lucy nods at them and follows the brunette and her daughter.

"Goodnight, girls." They call out.

Rachel picks the ice cream, not for the counter, but from the fridge - yeah, she had read that right. "Do you want some vanilla ice cream?"

"Sure." Lucy sits in one of the kitchen stool.

"I'm guessing regular, right?" The older blonde just nods slightly. "Lux, regular or vegan?"

"Vegan." Lucy keeps staring at them, like a tennis match. The questions start accumulating.

"Ask away." The brunette still knows how to read her, after all of this time.

"You adopted Lux? When...? I... what happened to her adoptive parents? how did she end up with you?" She tries to voice some of the more pressing ones.

"I was never adopted." The younger blonde starts.

"What? Why? They told me they wouldn't have any problem to find you a good family!" She exclaims.

Lux just shrugs, having a spoon full of ice cream sitting on another stool, so Rachel answers. "She had a heart condition. I'm guessing the doctors never told you?" Lucy shakes her head no. "She had to go through a series of operations and when she finished she was already too old for prospective parents."

Lucy looks at her daughter with a mix of fright and sadness.

"Don't you dare pity me." She says in an angry tone. "I'm fine." She adds, with less anger in her voice.

"So how...?"

"I crashed into her..." The brunette starts.

"Literally..." Lux mumbles.

"...the day before her emancipation hearing." Rachel finishes.

"Emancipation from who?"

"The foster care system." Both Rachel and Lux say at the same time.

Lucy nods, trying to still make sense of everything. "And after that, you ended up living with Rachel?"

"It didn't go as expected..." Lux just says.

"The judge didn't grant her emancipation, because she thought Lux couldn't care of herself and because... you and Noah didn't sign the right release form." Lucy looks at Lux and she shrugs. "She put her in my care for the time being. And look where has it taken her." The older blonde smiles. "I didn't know at first she was your daughter... but I've been trying to find you ever since."

Lucy just smiles, because after everything, Rachel still cares a lot about what she thinks and how she feels. After everything, she thinks Rachel will be the best adoptive home the girl can hope for. She had, and the blonde thinks she still has, a huge ego, but she's also attentive and very sweet.

Lux closes her eyes as she faces her bowl of ice cream and finds the calmness in herself to wear a cool face as she asks her biological mother. "So... maybe now that you are here... could you sign the right release?" Lux tells her.

Lucy looks at Rachel, wondering why the arrangement isn't permanent and her daughter isn't staying with her until she is legal. Rachel is looking at Lux, wondering why she is being so direct with Lucy and hasn't been able to talk to Noah about the same thing.

After a while, Lucy returns to her daughter and nods. "Yes... of course." She doesn't want to. Hell, she'd like to hug her and never let go of her little girl. But she can't deny that little favor to her. After all, it was her that gave her up in the first place.

Lucy takes a spoon full of her quickly melting ice cream and the other two imitate her, maintaining the silence. After a while, she has to say something. Anything.

"So... have you met Puck?"

Lux nods. "Yes. He's cool."

"He never left Lima. He was easy to find. Now you..." She points at her with her spoon. "What have you been up to? You always intrigued me. Brittany said something about a poetry book?"

She chuckles. "So she did receive it." Rachel laughs along. "I needed time to figure myself out and I felt I couldn't do it with the people from my past judging my changes. After I figured it out, I had already lost touch with everyone." She shrugs and suddenly become shy. "And my book... it's just a few poems I wrote mostly during that time and high school." She looks at her daughter.

Rachel hums curiously. "So... you are a writer?"

"Not really." She shrugs. "I did write a whole book, but I have never liked writing and having strangers read it. It's personal and therapeutic. But I have always liked reading, though."

"It used to drive me nuts when you read at the back of the glee meetings."

The older blonde chuckles. "I know it did." She nods. "It used to make reading even more entertaining."

Rachel's jaw slackens and falls open in an indignant shock and the younger blonde shakes in silent laughter until she can't take it anymore.

"You did that just to piss me off?" She asks in disbelief.

Lucy laughs along for a moment. "Not just. But your subtly angry look was hilariously cute."

The brunette tries to, but doesn't succeed in avoiding the little pout in her lips. Lucy laughs a little more and then tries to sober up. "Anyway. I still write private stuff, but I now read... I'm an editor." Lux looks at her mother and smiles. She became someone, she pursuit something she liked. She should feel very proud of her, but still something inside her aches. She pushes it aside.

Rachel looks at her and nods distractedly. "I know it's been a lot of time but... I think that job really suits you."

Lucy smiles shyly. Her phone beeps in her pocket and she picks it up.

"It's... my mother." She then watches the time. "Oh my... it's so late. I need to go home." She looks at her daughter. She didn't think she'll have so little time with her... Actually, she didn't think she'll get time at all, but it doesn't seem long enough. "Are you doing something tomorrow?"

"Actually..." Lux winces. "I invited my best friend and my boyfriend over..." Lucy looks briefly at Rachel as the b word is mentioned. "I was thinking about showing them town for the morning and maybe having some lunch with them."

"Oh..." Lucy says a little disappointed.

Rachel notes the disappointment. She's sure the blonde was going to suggest something.

"Hey." She intervenes. "Why don't you bring them home? I could cook something for Tasha and Bug." She tries to keep from laughing at the face the older blonde makes as she says Lux's boyfriend name. "And Lucy? Maybe you'd like to come, too?"

Lucy looks at her daughter and sees her expectant look. "Sure."


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Life Unexpected nor Glee.

A/N: Hope you like this!

**Chapter - 5**

Lux wakes up and fixes some coffee for her and Rachel. When the brunette emerges from her room with her iPod headphones still in her ears, she is like a character out of a cartoon, floating and following the coffee aroma.

The blonde laughs and pours her some in a mug. Rachel opens her eyes up as the mug slides over the counter. "Good morning." She says now cheerfully.

Lux doesn't answer, just signals to her own ears.

"Oh." The brunette gets her headphones off with a pop. "Sorry." She shrugs. "Good morning." She sips her coffee. "It's delicious." She hums. "What are you doing up so early?"

The blonde sighs. "I couldn't sleep much." She rests her elbows on the counter and her head on her hand.

"Too much on your head?"

"Yeah." She shrugs and drops her arms and her head on the counter, resting her forehead in the cool marble.

"Aaaw." The brunette calls and drops her hand over the blonde's in support.

"I honestly didn't expect this ordeal when I was put in your care." She mumbles still against the marble. "Though it shouldn't surprise me, all the interviews say that you have a very dramatic flair."

"Hey, that's not true." She almost stomps her foot, but she catches herself before it can happen. "And anyway, none of this was my fault. It was casualty."

Finally, the blonde rises again and starts laughing. She can't stop. Rachel looks at her like she is a crazy person and sips a little more coffee while waiting for some sort of explanation.

"I..." She starts, still laughing. "I was applying for emancipation and... and the judge goes and place me with this famous Broadway star and..." She keeps laughing and reaches for the end of her eyes where a tear is spilling. "And she seems that she truly cares!" She exclaims and keeps on laughing.

Rachel stares at her a little more worried now. She's still laughing, though it's anything but funny now.

"And in some weird way, she turns out to be my parents long lost friend." She puts her hand over her forehead now. "And she introduces me to my father and talks to my other high school friends and..." She gulps. "Bumps into my freaking mother and..." She drops her voice, but she still can hear her. "She's perfect."

She lets herself fall again against the marble counter. Rachel freaks a little bit out. She sets her mug down out of reach and rounds the marble counter until she's standing by the blonde's left side. She puts her left hand over the blonde's left shoulder and leans over her, giving her an awkward hug.

"Hey, hey." She whispers. "It's ok..." Now the laughs have turn into sobs. "It's ok."

"No." She shakes her head. "It's not... not ok."

Rachel squeezes her shoulders and rubs her arms. "I promise you it's going to be ok."

"I only was applying for emancipation." She smiles again between tears, raising her head from the counter.

Rachel mirrors her smile, a little less watery, and passes her thumbs under the blonde's brown eyes, wiping some of her tears. "I know..." She chuckles. "It's a lot to take in. For me as well, so I can't begin to imagine how all of this is for you."

The brunette keeps caressing Lux's cheek with her thumbs and feels the girl starting to relax, closing her eyes. "Just know that you are not alone in this, you are not the only one freaking out at times." She looks at her bewildered. "But I don't regret a single thing." She rushes to add. "Just still freak out at times."

Lux laughs a little bit more and a couple more tears slid down her cheeks.

"Hey. It's ok." The brunette catches them. She freezes for a sec and gets serious. "You are not alone. I know it's been like... less than a week, but..." She smiles now shyly. "You are stuck with me." Lux chuckles. "And I don't care if you are applying again for emancipation as soon as you get those signatures. That's not going to drive me away."

Lux full laughs now. "You sound like a stalker."

The brunette huffs. "You know what I mean."

"Doesn't mean I understand it." She sniffles.

"What don't you understand?"

"Why you would want to take care of me." She shakes her head and mumbles. "And please don't say you pity me."

"I don't pity you. I think, given the circumstances, you had a pretty good life going on, surrounded by people who love you. Your own family." She continues. "Well, I can't explain what was that made me connect with you, but you are a sweetheart, a wonderful person as far as I've seen and my gut tells me so. I recognize my decision in court was on impulse, but I reached to your social worker knowingly. I think we could complement each other around here."

"What are you saying?"

"Yeah. They say I'm dramatic at times, maybe you can add the realistic bit."

"Your gut tells you all of that?"

"Pretty much. And I am not usually wrong." She thinks for a while. "Also, I really appreciate the company."

"That's what dogs are for."

The brunette smirks. "Can you wolf?" Lux hits her in the arm. "Ouch. Okay, I deserved that." She caresses her arm. "Why don't you get in the shower already so your friends don't see you all crying and smelly?"

"I do not smell." The blonde turns around and passes by Rachel in her way to the bathroom. The brunette gives her a light swat in the bottom.

The brunette opens the door to Tasha and Bug a little while after.

"Good morning guys."

"Morning, Mrs. B." Tasha says as she makes her way inside the house, looking around.

"Hello, Mrs. Berry. Thank you for having us." Bug enters after the girl with their two helmets in his arm.

"Oh, it's nothing." She signals for a table around the hall. "You can leave those over there."

"Oh, thanks." He flashes her a smile and leaves the helmets there.

They go more into the house. "So, where's Lux?" Tasha asks.

"She's in her bedroom, getting ready."

"Oh." She mutes as she follows the older brunette to the corridor.

In despite of her height, Rachel raises her hand and catches the rope of the stairs. "Hey, Lux. We've got company." She calls.

"Send them up!" Comes the answer.

Rachel pulls the stairs all the way down and invites Tasha and Bug to go up with a swift move.

"Her bedroom is up there?" Tasha mumbles as she climbs up the stairs.

"My bedroom is the whole up there." Lux appears dropping her phone in her bag and sitting in her bed.

"Holy crap." Tasha, ever so expressive, says. "This room rocks."

"I know, right?"

Rachel can't help but stay for a little while at the bottom of the stairs and listen to the excitement in Lux's voice. She sighs. The blonde has still a lot of issues. Circumstances have made her guarded.

"Much like her mother." She thinks.

She goes back to the kitchen and stop listening to their private conversation, getting started with lunch.

"It is pretty nice." Bug says as he wonders around, checking the shelves and the desk.

"Hey." Lux gets up from her seat by Tasha's side in the bed and makes her way to Bug. "I know it's not ideal, but..."

He puts his big arm around her waist and cuts her sentence. "I understand." He looks directly into her eyes, somewhat into her soul, making sure that there is no doubt in there. "Just until you get your forms signed, right?" There it is. A flicker in her brown orbs. He isn't sure of what yet: doubt, hesitation, hope.

"Right." She nods certain. She isn't letting that shimmer of doubt get her yet.

Bug smiles to himself at the blonde's antics. He puts his other hand below her chin and stops her movement. Then he sees her smile and kisses her lips gently. "Don't worry. I know where you live." He says in his best stalker tone. She chuckles. "I'll visit, you'll visit and I'm just a phone call away. We'll make this work."

"Of course this will work." There's no flicker in her eyes and that's one of the things that make him love her. He kisses her again.

"Do I have to go help Rachel or something?"

They both chuckle and Lux bites her lip while she entertain the idea, but finally she turns around, still in Bug's arms and rests her back on his chest. Tasha is still distracted, looking at her bedside lamp.

"What the hell is this?" She turns it on and then off again.

"It's my father's. He wanted me to have it."

The brunette is still weirded out. "It's a bong." She states like it wasn't obvious enough.

She laughs. "Yeah."

"It's a bong lamp." She is still incredulous.

"I know. He says it's special and wanted me to have it." She shrugs.

"Exactly how old is he?"

"Same as Rachel. Thirty two. They went to school together. Why?"

"Just wondering. This isn't a typical present from a father to her daughter."

She laughs again. "He's not typical."

"I bet."

"He owns a bar and is the guitarist in a band." The blonde comments.

"He sounds cool." Bug shares her mind.

"He is." Lux sighs and squeezes his arm still around her waist. "And... my mother. She's cool too."

"You already met her?" The blonde nods and falls by Tasha's side. She puts her hand on Lux's shoulder. "How was it?"

"Good." She bobs her head. "She's good. Beautiful, funny, intelligent. She wrote a book and now she's an editor."

The three of them stay silent. Finally, Lux is again the one to break it. "Why don't we go out for a while? She's coming for lunch."

"What?" Tasha says surprised.

"Rachel invited her." She stands up and starts going down the stairs.

Downstairs, Rachel is still in the kitchen, but now she's talking on the phone.

"Hey, Rachel. We're heading out." Lux calls.

"Okay, guys. Have fun. Don't be late for lunch, you don't want it to get cold."

"We won't. Bye!"

"Later, Mrs. B." Tasha calls.

Bug follows them, turns in the hallway and waves at her, then keeps following them.

"What was all of that?" In the other side of the line, Kurt asks suddenly curious as he munches a toast.

"Well, you called me to know what was going on the other day." She takes a deep breath. "I have temporary custody of a sixteen years old girl, Lux." She hears the sharp intake of air in the other side. "The one that just went out with her best friend Tasha and his boyfriend Bug."

"What the... what kind of name is Bug?"

"I was calling because I had just figured out Quinn and Noah are her parents."

She pictures Kurt with his hand over his mouth, eyes wide open. "Oh... my... god..." She actually loves his dramatic reaction.

"Yeah." She chuckles. "What are the chances?"

"Unbelievable." He just says.

"There's more." Oh, yeah, she's having fun with this.

There's a squeal at the other end. "More? Is she pregnant at sixteen too?"

She chuckles. "Not at all." She shakes her head although he can't see her. "I bumped into Quinn last night."

Now, she can hear him gasp. "You've got to be kidding me."

"I'm not." She laughs.

"And did you tell her?"

"I told her I had come across her daughter and talked about meeting today. But..."

"But? Wasn't she interested?"

"She was. She went to my fathers' house, where we were having dinner." The doorbell rings and Rachel sets the vegetables she was chopping in the counter.

"And did they meet?"

When the brunette reaches the door, she opens it slightly to find the older blonde just outside. "Hey." She smiles. "Yes. They did." She keeps talking on her phone.

"Tell me it went better than with you and Shelby."

"Hey." The blonde answers.

She hesitates for a minute, judging Lucy's expression. "I think it did." She opens the door all the way. "Come on in."

Lucy comes inside and Rachel closes the door. "Listen, Kurt. I need to go. I'll call you later, 'kay?"

He huffs. "You better."

"Hey, what are you doing here so early?" She says finally hanging up.

She states. "I wanted to come over and help."

"Really?" Rachel doesn't believe a thing and steals Lucy's movement and raises her eyebrow.

She chuckles. "Okay... I wanted to talk to you."

The brunette smiles. "Follow me." She goes into the kitchen once again. "Do you want something to drink?"

"Oh. That reminds me... I brought a bottle of wine..."

"That sounds great, actually."

"If you just point me in the right direction, I'll do it."

"Right there. Top drawer. There should be a bottle opener there." She keeps chopping some vegetables and starts putting them in a casserole.

After a few seconds, there's a pop. "The cupboard on my right, top shelf." Lucy follows her direction and gets a couple of glasses.

She serves them and puts one so Rachel can reach it. She grabs it a few seconds after and sips it. "It's delicious."

"Thanks."

"So... what did you want to talk about?" Rachel is playing dumb, because really, it's obvious.

Lucy hesitates. "How is she?"

The brunette looks at her, as if measuring. "I think she's freaking out as much as you are."

She chuckles. "I'm freaking out a lot. I don't know what to do."

"Can I make a suggestion?"

"Please." The blonde whispers.

"Get to know her." She simply states.

"I'd like to."

"From what I've gathered so far, she's such a good girl." The blonde smiles. "Also... I think that sooner or later you have to explain her why you gave her up for adoption."

"What do you mean? Did you explain her...?"

"It was not my place, so I didn't. We talked a bit though, yesterday." She takes another sip from her glass. "She liked you. But she doesn't understand. I..." She clears her throat. "I think I can relate a little to what she may be feeling. I think she believes there's something wrong with her."

Lucy is clearly shocked. "I'm no psychologist, but I think the fact that you gave her up and nobody has adopted her has changed her."

"What are you saying?"

"It has become something in her character. At first it surprised me that she didn't understand why I may have wanted to take her in." She explain. "But I later gathered that it's because she doesn't think she isn't worth it. Nobody wanted her, she mustn't deserve a thing."

"That's not true."

"I think it would help if you would explain why you had to gave her up."

"I... maybe..."

"It's just a suggestion, Lucy."

"Okay." She sips her own wine. After a while, she bites her lip. "Rachel... I don't really know what happened between your mother and you in high school, but I know you got hurt. I don't want to do that to Lux... help me?"

Her eyes cloud at the memory, but suddenly comes back to the present. "Of course." She shakes her head to definitely make her memories go away. "You are not living in Lima, are you?"

"No." She shakes her head. "I came over to help my mother with... stuff. I live in New York." When Rachel saddens, Lucy frowns. "I'll be here for a while. I can do most of my work with my laptop and occasional stalker-ish visits to the Big Apple."

The brunette chuckles. "Let's see how things play out?" She suggests.

"Yeah." She nods.

As always, there's so much that's left unsaid between the both of them and that Rachel has to read between the lines and the pauses.

Right now, Rachel feels Lucy's curiosity, how she wants to get to know her daughter and how she fears that's not enough. The blonde bites her lip. Yeah, she definitely has some insecurities.

The brunette puts her hand over the blonde's in reassurance and she sighs. Rachel guesses she really would want to become part of Lux's life, but doesn't know if she would be accepted in it.

The crackling of the food in the pan brings them out of their conversation and demands the brunette's attention to salvage it before it's too late.

"So who else is coming for lunch?" Lucy asks after clearing her throat.

"Just Lux's best friend, Tasha, and her boyfriend, Bug."

"...and you already know them?"

"I have had the pleasure to meet them. Tasha reminds me a little bit of Santana." She chuckles. "They met in a girl's home when they were just kids."

"Does Bug wear a mohawk?"

Rachel really laughs at this and shakes her head. "That was too my first question. No, he doesn't have a mohawk, but... he has a spider web tattooed in his neck." After watching Lucy's reaction. "Don't judge him just by that, I think he's good to her."

"Why did you come back to Lima? You had it all in New York."

"Did I?" Lucy shrugs. "I had fame but I felt alone. Typical, huh?" The blonde bobs her head. "I decided to fly low for a little while and then my father called me up and told me my Daddy has cancer."

"Oh, I'm sorry." She rushes to say.

The brunette waves her hand. "Anyway... Mr. Shue offered me a teaching position and I took it."

"Are you happy?" Lucy looks at her trying to read her answer, but at the same time it's Rachel who reads her.

She nods. "I think... given the circumstances..." She inclines her head to her side. "I'm making the most of my life, right now."

"Good to know."

"Are you?"

"I may be getting there." She bites her lip again while watching the brunette keep going around the kitchen. "Rachel?" She asks.

The gentleness in her voice makes her look back up immediately. "Yes, Lucy?"

"I'm sorry." She simply states.

"About what?"

"Everything that I've ever put you through, yesterday when I was mean to you without a reason..."

"Stop it." She holds her hand up. "You already apologized for the high school stuff at graduation, remember? And I forgave you, so there's that. About yesterday? It was stupid. I've always known you tend to be mean when you are scared or nervous." Lucy drops her head in embarrassment. "It's ok. I forgive you."

"Thank you."

"No, thank you." She takes a sip from her forgotten glass of wine. "So... friends?" She extends her hand.

"I've always consider you a friend, you know?" She takes the hand and squeezes it. "You were the only one that believed in me..."

"So did you. " She says. "Anyway... friends again?"

"I'd like that very much."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I do not own tv shows, I wish I did.**

**Disclaimer: Sorry guys this took so long - life keeps getting in the way. At least it wasn't something bad, actually a pretty good opportunity, but enough to keep me off writing. Again, I'm sorry.**

**Chapter - 6**

"Hello?" Lux calls out when she comes back.

"In the living room!" The brunette calls out. "Show time." She whispers to Quinn.

The blonde comes out the door and waves at them. Quinn stands up and freezes awkwardly, not knowing what to do next.

Lux really hopes that Tasha and Bug behave. She's aware of the complicated relationship Tasha has with her mother and she is convinced that Lucy's the same, so she already resents her. Lux prefers to think she's not.

You see... Tasha met her mother a while ago. She had a troubled past, with drugs and stuff, and that's when she got pregnant and gave her up for adoption. However, she caught up with her only a couple of years ago. She is now clean. She's married to a good man, who she met briefly, and has a job. She also has a kid, her half brother. She reached to her, but her mother turned her down again. This time she had a stable life and economy, but still she turned her down.

Lux refuses to believe that Lucy is like that. In fact, she refuses to believe that her future hosts anything more for her than a judge granting her emancipation and moving to a loft with her boyfriend. Maybe, she thinks, it'll involve some of Rachel's persistent self. But her mother? No, she doesn't even want to think about it.

"Hello again Mrs. B." Tasha says nicely to Rachel, then turns to nod at the blonde who, she assumes given the similar physical appearance, is Lux's mother.

"Mrs. Scott, I assume." Bug says cordially, extending his hand for Lucy to grab.

"Hello." The blonde shakes his hand. "You must be Bug, right?" She smiles and the guy nods. "Nice to meet you.. Please, call me Lucy." Now he smiles.

They settle around the table. Lucy shares a look with Rachel. Yeah, Bug really isn't as badass as she imagined. He is making a really good impression.

The brunette goes to the kitchen to retrieve the meal and Lux decides to follow her to help.

"Hey." The blonde says as she reaches the kitchen. "How long ago did she arrive?"

"A while..." She ponders. "She wanted to have a little chat."

"Huh." She grabs a dish. "What about?"

"A little catching up." She shrugs. "But mostly about you, obviously."

They are all set, but they stops before coming back to the living room. "What did you talk about me?" The blonde squares herself and asks with all the authority she can muster.

"You know... the chances that you were put in my care, how thankful she is that you are healthy and okay,... that kind of stuff."

Lux doesn't like it very much, it doesn't fit her Lucy-less future and builds a fragile hope in her heart.

"Don't worry." The brunette is carrying another dish with an oven mitten, but she puts her free harm on the girl's shoulder. She looks back at her and Rachel nods her hear toward the doorway. She nods. "Let's go."

Meanwhile...

"So..." Tasha starts, arms crossed over her chest. Bug is looking at her pointedly, but she ignores him. "You are Lux's mother, huh?"

"Yes. I am." She squares her features to not express any emotion. It is interrogation time.

"So..." She leans over the table. "What's your deal?"

She reminds Lucy a little bit of Santana. She thinks of an answer, but whatever she comes up, she bets that Tasha will threaten her to go all Lima Heights on her ass.

"I just met my daughter." She shrugs. "I want to get to know her."

"Don't get to know her if you are just going to walk away from her again." She presses her lips hard together. "If you hurt her, I'll track you down."

She lets an unsurprised eyebrow raise in her otherwise expressionless face. Her eyes never wonder as she looks directly into Tasha's and gives her a slight nod, sending her a silent message.

Just then, Rachel and Lux come back.

"This is a vegan casserole. I hope you all like it."

"It looks great Mrs. Berry." The only guy in the table compliments it.

"Thank you, Bug." She answers serving him a plate.

"Nice, Mrs. B." Tasha says as Rachel starts serving hers.

"Looks amazing, Rachel." Lucy compliments it too.

"Thank you, girls."

They munch awkwardly and silently. They compliment Rachel's cooking again and fall again in an awkward silence. All they have in common is Lux, but in different stages of her life, so they can't find a suitable line of conversation.

"So..." Rachel tries to start. "Lux is starting tomorrow at her new high school."

"Is she?" Lucy looks from Rachel to Lux and the blonde nods.

"Yeah. We were just there in my tour round Lima." She avoids her mother's eyes and looks to her friends, her real family.

"In Lima...?" She says surprised and looks again back to Rachel. "She's going to McKinley?"

"Yeah. She is. I'm teaching there." Rachel nods.

"Didn't appreciate that very much, Mrs. B. I'm going to miss her like crazy."

"I know, I know. But it's just more viable this way instead of driving every day to Columbus."

"We understand." Bug nods.

"Is Sue Sylvester still there?" Lucy still wonders.

Rachel chuckles. "Yeah, she is. Bossy as ever."

"I thought she'd be retired by now." Lucy looks kind of surprised, but not really. A very Sue Sylvester thing to do would be to keep shouting orders to her cheerios until the day she dies.

"She threatened to haunt whoever kicked her out of the school." Rachel shivers at the thought and gains a giggle from Lux.

"You'll meet her tomorrow." She nods at her. "Just don't tell her you are Quinn's daughter." Lucy looks truly frightened. "She used to be her head cheerio and Sue made them do their splits under the rain."

"But... I think I saw a gym..." Bug starts saying.

"That was not an option. If we were able to do our splits under the pressure of extreme conditions, we wouldn't have a problem under the pressure of competition."

"They did win nationals three years in a row. Sue has never been able to repeat that." Rachel explains. "She still talks about that generation."

"Don't ever try to join the cheerios." Lucy adds, eyes directly on Lux's. "Synchronized swimming is a good way to keep you fit too. Sylvester is way too crazy."

The brunette shakes her head and looks like the blonde is the only one in the room. "And you were in the team until you were two months pregnant, she kicked you out and you went back later. I don't even know how you endured it."

"I don't know either. But it was the only familiar thing in my life anymore..." They share a little smile and turn to see Lux shaking her head.

"I'm not joining cheerios, not a chance. And I doubt I'll be joining any sports team either." She shakes her head.

"Oh." Rachel recalls and nods in understanding. Lux kicks her shin under the table. "Ow." She mumbles, but keeps silent otherwise. When Lucy looks at her, she shrugs. "But you will join glee club, right?" The brunette beams and pouts and it's hard to tell her no.

"You sing?" Tasha says between surprise and laugh.

"I do." Lux laughs back. "Better than you, if you recall. I beat your ass last time at Singstar."

Tasha stops laughing and huffs, crossing her arms over her chest. "I have a different vocal range. You must always remind us of that..." She's just pretending to be pissed and her two friends find it hilarious.

The adults look at each other as they feel they are out of the loop, she looks mad... yeah.

"Does Mr. Shue still direct the club?" She changes the topic.

"Principal Shuester, actually. He's busier now, so she lets me handle most of it." She brushes her hair back. "He asked for my help and I couldn't deny the club my knowledge..." The brunette puts a hand over her heart and closes her eyes briefly, titling her head back.

"Of course." Lucy answers with all the seriousness she can muster, though it isn't much and her lips tremble. Rachel chuckles, smacks her shoulder lightly and they both end up laughing.

When the two of them look back to the rest of the dinner party, they're looking at them awkwardly. Rachel rolls her eyes at the irony.

"So... what are you up to now, guys?" Rachel asks.

"I don't know. What do you guys want to do?" Lux puts her hand over Bug's and looks back and forth between her boyfriend and her best friend.

"I don't know. But we do have to go back soon. Tomorrow is Monday and my shift starts pretty early." Lux looks at him and pouts. "I know, I know. But if I don't sleep good, I get freakingly clumsy and they take it off my salary." He defends himself, putting his hands up in the air.

"Okay..." Still, Lux keeps pouting. Bug smiles and after looking from the corner of his eyes to Rachel and Lucy's side, he leans and pecks the blonde's lips. He checks again for their reaction and finds that Rachel is openly smiling and that Lucy's lips go a little upwards on the sides as she looks down to her plate. "That's not fair." Lux states, but there's a smile playing in her lips and she leans again for another brief kiss.

"Oh, god. You're disgusting sometimes." Tasha starts and Lucy stifles a chuckle. "We are going home soon because otherwise I'm going to end with diabetes."

Lux extends her arm, although she's still leaning into Bug, and pushes her friend who isn't paying attention and almost drops from her chair.

"Hey, watch it!" Tasha starts, but they are all laughing now.

When the laugh subsides, Rachel takes a look at the table and thinks about the mess in the kitchen. She leaves her napkin on the table and starts standing. "Do whatever you want. I'm going to finish cleaning up, ok?"

"Do you need any help?" Lux offers, already dropping her napkin on the table.

The brunette shakes her head and looks to Bug and Tasha, then back to Lux. "Don't worry about it." She carries her plate in one hand and puts the other one over the older blonde's shoulder. "Lucy will help me."

She looks up from her seat and raises an eyebrow. "Will I?"

"Won't you?" Rachel pouts her mouth in her devilish way. Lucy looks at her daughter from across the table and they chuckle. Yes, there's no way around the Berry pout.

"How do you think that went?" Lucy worries her lip. They are almost finished in the kitchen and the blonde hasn't said much since dinner. She's been really worried about the impression she has made in Bug and Tasha, because she knows that their approval would mean very much for her daughter.

Rachel understands it. When she met both of them, she was in a hurry to find Lux and didn't over think it. Later, she stopped to think about it and worried a little bit, but what's done is done, or so they say. She must have made a good impression, though. "I think it went pretty well... What did Tasha tell you when Lux and I were in the kitchen?"

"She threatened me into not hurting Lux." Lucy actually smiles and shakes her head, thinking about the girl's tactics. "How did you know she would say something?"

The brunette chuckles. "She seems to be more straight forward. I haven't known them very long, but... she kind of remind me of Santana? I knew something like that was going to happen."

"And you didn't think of warning me?" Lucy feigns shock.

She stops all her movement, physically turns to face her and says with a pretty serious face. "Are you going to hurt your daughter?"

"No." Lucy shakes her head.

"There wasn't anything to warn you about, then." She shrugs and turns back to the plates in her hands.

Lucy keeps still, though. "I don't know if you really know me or you believe in me too much..." She thinks out loud. "Maybe both. Even back in school." She mumbles. "You were the only one who believed in me. The only one who understood a little how I was feeling, how I really wasn't ok."

They keep moving around the kitchen, emptying plates and washing them in the sink in silence for a few moments. Actually, neither of them are currently in the present. They are back in the corridors of McKinley as teenagers.

_You don't belong here, Rachel, and you can't hate me for helping me send you on your way._

_You're a very pretty girl, Quinn. The prettiest girl I've ever met, but you're a lot more than that._

"Well, I was right." Rachel replies, a smile playing on her lips as she goes back to the graduation speech they received from their valedictorian, Quinn Fabray.

Quinn leaves the plates aside in the sink, dries her hands and turns to face Rachel. "Thank you." She says quietly and the brunette doesn't reply immediately because she feels the blonde is not done. "Sometimes when I felt down in Yale, like the world was going to swallow me, your voice came to the back of my mind and reminded me that there was someone who once believed in me." She looks at the ground.

"I had to have some distance from this town, from the people who knew me back then to clear my mind and understand who I really was. But I should have kept in contact with my friends."

"Hey. We understand." Rachel takes a step forward and puts her hand on the blonde's arm, bringing her hazel eyes back up.

"I feel like you've been there for me all along the way and I failed to be there for you."

The brunette bits her lower lip lightly, slightly amused slightly annoyed by the blonde's dramatics, really worst than hers actually. She hugs her gently, stopping it. "What's done is done. You are now here. Stop wondering about the past."

"I do, though." She looks at the ceiling, more or less where her daughter is still with her friends. "And it's inevitable."

"I don't think regretting things that happened in the past is going to bring you now happiness. Let go of it, Lucy." She forces her head down with a hand on her cheek. "There's no use. Focus on what's ahead and how you can proceed."

Finally a smile plays on the blonde's lips and Rachel takes her hand back as Lucy nods slightly.

"Rachel...?" The brunette squeezes Lucy's arms and they look back curiously. Lux comes into the kitchen, laptop in hand. "You left Skype on and they are being pretty insistent."

"Oh, thanks." The young blonde leaves the laptop on the table. "I'll see what she wants and you can have the laptop back, 'kay?"

"Don't worry." She just shrugs.

Rachel sits in front of the screen and after a lingering look to the blonde and the seat besides her, she catches the meaning and sits beside her.

"Brittany? Hello?" Rachel says once she's accepted the call and hears some shuffling, even though the image isn't there yet.

"Thumbelina." Another voice says and the image brings Santana into view. "Brittany is actually rehearsing. Yeah, on a Saturday. A student has an audition tomorrow and they are working together. Why she won't let her work by herself, bites me. That woman is too good." Rachel and Lucy try to stifle their laughs. She can tell that the blonde is eyeing the screen in detail, going over every wrinkle that the latina wouldn't admit have appeared in her face in the years she's missed. "Anyway. I'm just calling because I found the damn book."

Rachel furrows her brow. "You know... Quinn's book." The slight surprise has her looking to her side. Lucy smiles at her, then clears her throat and inches her chair towards Rachel until their sides are touching and both fit in the screen.

"Hey." The blonde smiles at the perplexed latina. "Long time, no see."

"Holy shit." She deadpans. "When the hell did this happen? And why didn't you tell me?"

"It just happened last night, Santana. I haven't had much time to tell you." She tries to defend herself. This isn't playing how the brunette had imagined.

Santana ignores it, shakes the book in the air and points at it with her other hand. "Just a text would have been nice. Do you know how long it took me to find the book?"

"I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting to find her so fast. It really didn't occurred to me to call you." Rachel apologizes.

Lucy follows the conversation, amazed by how easy it flows between the two of them after all of those years.

"You guys do realize I'm here, right?" She raises her eyebrow and bumps her shoulder against Rachel's side.

"Oh, don't even let me start with you, Lucy." She puts all the emphasis in her new name. But a little chuckle escapes the blonde's mouth and that's all it takes. "You went away and never looked back, right? You couldn't call even once in all these years. I understand if you needed to make it on your own, figure out your shit or whatever... but after? Couldn't you have given us a call?"

"I sent a book to Brittany..." Lucy starts.

"Oh, yeah. That's how we guessed you were still alive." Rachel bites her lip and tries not to butt in Santana's monologue, arguing the latina just found out about the book the day before.

She bites her lip for a second. "Yes, you are right. I have no excuse. Even if I thought it was too late to rekindle our friendship, I should have still reached out. I'm sorry." The blonde looks down guiltily.

That seems to settle the latina. Rachel already had a feeling that she was willing to let it all go if Lucy apologized. She has missed so much in her friends life. A few years after high school, her abuelita died. She had never accepted that her granddaughter liked girls and Santana was still working to rekindle some sort of relationship with her. Santana was devastated when Rachel saw her in the cemetery that day, but she nodded her head in acknowledgement.

A couple of years later, she received an invitation to their wedding. Rachel couldn't be there that time, so she just sent her present on the mail. She did received a thank you card, written by both Santana and Brittany if the 'Thumbelina' and the Skype address written inside a circle of flowers were any indication.

"You better be available for a good talk when I tell Brittany you reappeared." The latina ends with a nod and the blonde knows it's going to be all the acknowledgement she's going to get from her, all the admission that she's happy to see her.

"I will be around." She answers.

Rachel is kind of amazed about the type of conversation they're having. There are only a few words spoken, but the meaning goes beyond them. For someone who didn't know them, it will go unnoticed, but Rachel couldn't help it.

"It seems I have to gain back some trust." Lucy looks down just a second. Really, their form of communication is wonderful.

"You bet your ass you do. For starters, your daughter's trust." Just Santana, always so straight forward.

"I trust her..." Rachel mumbles.

"You're nuts." They both say at once.

The brunette defends herself. "You two are very distrustful."

"You've been good, then?" Santana presses, ignoring Rachel.

"Not bad. You?"

They keep talking, short sentences, but Rachel's attention goes elsewhere. Basically, it's all over a huge ball of fur that against gravity has managed to jump on the bed behind Santana.

The cat just walks around like he owns the place, gets his little head inside the briefcase lying there and rolls a pen outside. The extremely fat cat sits on the bed, playing with the pen. Rachel wonders how many food does Brittany feed him. At least she knows she's not feeding him fondue, like Lord Tubbington The First - with all the comments on her videos on youtube stating how bad cheese could be for cats, Brittany was crying for a week and apologizing to her cat.

As she comes back, the cat is biting on the pen distractedly. "Mm... Santana?" She speaks finally, interrupting whatever they are throwing short sentences around now.

"What?"

Rachel keeps staring at the cat and just moves her head. As Santana turns around, Lord Tubbington The Third success and black ink starts dropping all over the place.

"Son of a..." Santana shoots up and snatch the rest of the pen from the cat and kicks him out of the way.

"Santana, he could have drunk some of the ink. You should check him out."

"Well, he deserves what he gets." She tries to salvage the papers in her briefcase, most of them are still clean. "And anyway, I've seen him eat more disgusting things than ink. He'll be fine."

Lucy chuckles besides her. Santana keeps running from one side to the other of the room.

"Santana, I think we are going to leave you to deal with this mess. We'll speak another time, okay?" Rachel says.

"Sure." She stops in front of the computer and nods. "See ya, Thumbelina. Luuucy."

"See you, Santana." They answer simultaneously, though the latina has already ended the call.

Lucy sighs.

"How do you feel after all of that?" Rachel, as always, seems to live in her mind.

"Good." She starts. Rachel gives her a pointed look and she continues. "Tired. Believe it or not, that was a very emotional conversation."

She smiles. "Yeah... You guys have an interesting way of showing emotion. I could tell that there was plenty more being said without words."

Lucy chuckles. "But it was good. She was my best friend back in high school."

"Except that time you fought in the corridors."

She huffs and Rachel looks at her weirdly. "That was staged." The outrageous look on her face is unbelievable. "Sylvester wanted a fight for the head cheerio position, so we gave it to her." She shrugs. "As long as it was one of us at the top, it wouldn't matter. Nobody would pick on any of us." The key in us being Brittany, Rachel figures.

"Wow, that was pretty clever. And a very believable performance, I might say."

"Yeah. We wanted it believable, so... one or two of those kicks were actually real. Unintentional, but real."

Rachel bites her lip. "You're allowed to laugh." Lucy says bumping her shoulder against the brunette.

She lets go and laughs soundly. "I'm sorry. I don't think I could do a better job in such a performance, but it's still funny..."

"I know, I know."

Rachel reenacts the fight again. "So the 'stop the violence' Brittany shouted..."

"Oh, no. She didn't know anything about it. She wouldn't have allowed it and she was pretty mad after. That was all her."

She laughs. "Poor Brittany."

They stay silent for a while, content, their shoulders touching. Rachel wonders how would have been having an actual friendship in high school with her. Besides the tension they had going on, they could talk. They were pretty similar for the head cheerio and the biggest loser. They liked literature, music - although different styles -, cooking. They could sustain an intelligent conversation, a thing the brunette appreciated the most, because Finn would get bored with the two first words and tune her out.

After a few minutes, Rachel dares to lean her head over Quinn's shoulder.

"I'm very glad you are back."

It really comes as a shock as the blonde leans her head over the brunette's.

"I'm glad too. I'm glad I got another shot. With you. With her."

..

"So this is the Chemistry class. I've already shown you where my class is. if you need anything, you know where to find me. If I seem occupied, you can try principal Shuester."

"I'll be fine, Rachel... um, Ms. Berry. Stop babying me." Lux looks around.

"You got your lunch?"

"Yeah... yeah..." She sighs, still looking around and praying for a chance to still make a good impression to her partners and not coming up as the teacher's pet.

"Seriously, no matter how many times I insist, there's never a decent vegan option."

"I got it Rachel." She whispers, making a point by calling her by her first name. "You have everything in order at your house?" She attacks, dodging the concern the brunette is feeling about her.

"Yes, everything's fine. Why? I thought you wouldn't mind going back to the girls home with your best friend and being closer to your boyfriend..." She bites her tongue, still amused.

"Just checking if I'll need to pack up things as soon as I get out of school today."

"Wouldn't you like that?" The brunette shakes her head, aware of the tiny bit of hesitance shown in Lux façade.

The blonde decides not to concede an answer, given the difficulty she was having figuring her feelings in the matter out. She gives her a shrug and a simple look and walks into the classroom, bumping her shoulder lightly against her.

Rachel huffs and walks to her class. Lux's enigmatic self reminds her a lot of Quinn and she hopes she'll be able some day to understand both enigmas.

Lux walks to the side of the teacher's desk and waits patiently for the man to actually look at her. "Mr. Williams?" The man takes off his glasses and leaves them on top of the papers he was reading.

"Hi. I'm the new student?"

"Oh!" He exclaims. "Yeah, yeah. Ms. Berry called me yesterday personally." He stands up and points to a kid that's just entered. "Nice to meet you, Lux. Here's Seth. He's the only one without a partner right now, so maybe you'd like to sit with him?"

"Sure, thanks." Lux answers. As she examines her new partner, she's not really sure why he's the only one alone in the chemistry lab. Nice clothes, or at least nicer than what she's used to see in her last school, and a good level of corporal hygiene as far as she can tell.

"Hey. I'm Lux. Mr. Williams just assigned me to be your new partner."

"Oh, great." His blue eyes make a sweep from her feet to her head and then go back to his manicured nails, very focused on them. Yeah, not gay though. "I'm Seth. Nice to meet you." He extends his hand to shake Lux's one briefly. "Do you know anything about chemistry?"

"Something... I don't know." The blonde shrugs.

The brunette boy chuckles. " My best friend Anna doesn't take this class and these guys just leave me alone here so I can make a mess and laugh at me."

"Well, I'll do as much as I can." She shrugs again and hops on the stool.

People start wondering in the class, a guy in a wheelchair rolls in and places himself in the first desk, adapted to his height. He reaches for his back pack and takes his book and notebook out. As he does, a pen falls and rolls on to the ground, out of his reach. He extends his arm nonetheless, but is futile.

Lux kneels, takes it and gives it to him.

"Thanks." He mutes.

"It's nothing."

"Hey, look. We have a new loser kneeling at our feet." When Lux looks up, she sees a couple of cheerleaders looking mockingly at her. She raises her eyebrow, unimpressed. The brunette cheerleader chuckles and the blonde one keeps staring at her, analyzing her, until they both keep moving on, towards the back of the class, like they were synchronized.

Lux goes back to her stool. "Who the hell are them?"

"Yeah, nice catch. Within the first five minutes, you've managed to meet the most popular girls in school. Amanda, head cheerio, and Sofia, her right hand." He whispers.

"Also seem the biggest bitches."

He shrugs. "I don't know, some of them have it really hard..."

The blonde raises her eyebrow incredulously and when Seth doesn't continue, Lux drops herself on the desk and groans. "I don't know how I'm going to survive here." She feels a hand on her shoulder.

"I thought the same when I moved here from LA." He shakes his head. "You'll be fine... Do you happen to like comics?" He smiles while trying to find something in common.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or Life Unexpected.**

**Chapter - 7**

"Good morning, Lauren." Rachel greets Lux's social worker at her door. "I hope the drive here was nice."

"Good morning, Rachel. Yes, it was pretty nice, but hopefully I won't need to make this trip too many times."

"Well, you are welcome anytime you want, but if your visits are official, I should hope that." She declares with a smile.

The woman smiles too and passes through the door. She gets a notebook from her suit and starts checking.

"So... would you want the grand tour?" Rachel offers, a little put off by the notebook and hoping everything is fine.

"That should be a good place to start. I will be asking some questions along the way, but it's all routine. I'm pretty sure everything will be fine."

"Sure." She mumbles and starts guiding her. She shows her the living room; the kitchen with a fully function smoke detector; her bedroom and, finally, Lux's room. So far, so good, it's all she can say.

She lowers the staircase and invites the social worker up. She wonders how much of a mess the teenager's bedroom is. She reviews the state of the room when she woke her up this morning and doesn't remind nothing odd. She does a mental check. She supposes Lux made the bed and...

"Damn it, Puck. The bong lamp!" She mumbles.

Lauren turns around once in the bedroom. "Did you say something?"

"Oh, no, nothing. I just I want to apologize for how her room might be. I left her some freedom in the decoration of this space and... well, Puck..."

"I find it perfectly acceptable..." Lauren says satisfied with everything.

Rachel finally comes up the stairs. "Are you sure?"

Lauren looks weird at her, unaware of what should look bad in the blonde's room. She gives it a round again and still doesn't know what she is looking for.

The brunette steps to the social worker's side and looks to the bedside table. No sign of the bong lamp. She smiles. Lux hid it. She wants to stay for now.

"I rather like her general music taste, but that poster of the new Disney wannabe creation it's horrible. He can't even sing."

Lauren laughs and closes her notebook. "I think everything is just fine."

"Does that mean that I passed? That she can stay here?"

"Yeah." She nods vigorously at the happy woman.

"Great!"

"So... how is she adapting so far? How was your weekend?"

"Pretty intense, actually." She guides her back down. "Do you want some coffee?"

"Sure..." She follows her to the kitchen, where the brunette pours her some coffee and they move to the living room. "What do you mean it was pretty intense?"

"I mean... you do remember I was an acquaintance to her parents?" The woman raises her eyebrow and nods. "Well, we've come across each other recently."

"Really?" She says surprise. "That's not really orthodox, you were not supposed to know the identity of her biological parents."

"I know, I know, but I guessed their identity, remember?" She gives Rachel a nod. "And Lux knew their names, somehow she figured out that her dad delivered our pizza the first night here."

"That explains where our form went..." She shakes her head, but she's really smiling. Seriousness takes over again. "Was she ok, though?"

"I don't know. I think so." She shrugs. "If she's anything like her mother, she will be trying really hard not to think about it. I'm not sure how similar they really are, really. I spent years in high school figuring her mother out, but I've only had a few days with Lux." She sips her coffee. "Anyway, I feel really connected to her and I'm trying to be here for here. Yesterday, she had her best friend and her boyfriend come over. I hoped that would serve as moral support."

"I feel I should ask... how are her parents? What kind of influence will Lux be under? I mean... she lacks stability, she's been from one foster home to another. One of the things the judge saw in you, was the possible stability you could gave her now that you retired."

"I know what you mean, I understand her situation and would never do anything to hurt her, to alter her stability. I'm been cautious, Lauren. Puck, her father, owns a club and helps up in his friend's business. Once he might have been a bad influence, but he's calmed down a bit now and he really liked getting a chance to meet her daughter."

She sips again. "Quinn, her mother, is an editor. We literally just bumped into each other. She wants to make things right." She busies herself sipping again. She's nervous, she wasn't expecting telling Lauren so quickly and now the sipping is almost a tic. "She's been protected. By her friends, by me."

Lauren nods. "I'm going to keep all my reservations to myself for the moment. But this could go either way." The brunette nods and sips again.

Overall, the classes were pretty much the same that in her old school. Without incidents involving the police mid class, but pretty much the same. Lux would need to catch up a little bit in science, but she had a pretty good level in spanish - it's unbelievable that having a native teacher, Mr. Ricky Martin, they would still have such a low level.

The students were, though, pretty different. Not at all what Lux went to school with back in Colombus. The hierarchy was really clear to everybody and with a little help from Seth, Lux decided the best thing was to make yourself invisible.

The football team was at the top of the pyramid, along with the cheerios. The rest of the teams and clubs just fight for the middle sports and then, at the bottom, the glee club. Lux remembered Rachel saying something about a nationals competition, but that doesn't seem to have made a difference in their status.

They are the losers of the school and they toss them into dumpsters, fill the lockers with dirt and throw them sticks - actually, Seth said Coach Sylvester do most of those things. And she promised Rachel she would join the glee club... great.

"Will you seat with us at lunch?" Seth asks when their last period finishes.

"Umm... sure." Lux answers. She follows the brunette boy to the lunch court and they seat in the end of a table.

"You brought your lunch? I'm not sure of the sanitary conditions the food in here is made and I'm allergic to peanuts, so I'm very delicate. Once I got an allergic reaction here from a plate of mac'n'cheese. I got this rash..." He gestures and when Lux looks at him with wide eyes, he grimaces. "Let's just say it wasn't pretty, so I have never eaten here again." He pauses. "Well, once I forgot my lunch and I was hungry, but the lady almost kicks me out..." He finishes and Lux chuckles.

"Yes." She says and when Seth looks at her weird she completes. "I brought my own lunch." Understanding waves over him and they laugh.

"I tend to speak too much." He apologizes.

"I've noticed."

"I'm sorry." He apologizes again.

She munches on her lunch. "It's okay. I find it funny..." He smiles at her and looks around.

"Hey, Anna!" He greats a girl with blonde, spiky hair that sits by his side. "You're late."

"I had a question for Ms. B at the end of lit class."

"That boring book you are reading now?"

"I just wanted to know her opinion about the main character. And it's not boring." She fishes for her lunch on her back pack.

"You should try more of those books with images on it. They call them comics."

"I'm aware of them and sometimes I like to read one, but they aren't nearly as profound as a good book."

"I feel offended. Comics are profound... sometimes." Anna and Lux raise an eyebrow at him.

"Why don't you just introduce me?"

"Anna, this is Lux, my new lab partner. Lux, this is Anna, my best friend."

"Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too. So... what's your story?"

"Huh?"

"Yeah, why did you end up here in the middle of the school year?"

"Oh, I just moved here from Colombus and they enrolled me in this school. Don't know if I'll stay in Lima much." She busies herself with her food. Yeah, her story is pretty complicated for a girl she's just met.

Anna raises her eyebrow though and Lux rolls her eyes. There's an inquisitive pull in her, something that tells her she can trust her. But Lux can't trust anybody. Maybe Bug and Tasha, but she still has reservations.

After all, even her mother gave her up and never came back looking for her. If that connection -which is supposed to be the greatest- failed, so how can she trust anybody.

Having Lucy back in her life isn't doing much for her. She fears she will let her mother in too much only to have her backing away from her life. She did it once already, she might do it again.

Sometimes she thinks she isn't fair, that her mother might have some explanation as to why she let her go as a baby. But it still doesn't fit in her mind, that still believes in a more selfish reason behind Lucy's actions.

Lux closes her eyes and presses her lids hard.

She can't trust her.

She can't love her.

She's only going to get hurt.

As she opens her eyes again, she tries to push away her line of thought and looks back to Anna, who is still watching her closely. She widens her eyes as a question and Lux just nods. Anna might have gotten the message, because she turns to Seth and starts bickering again.

"Hey, sexy. You are new, aren't you? Would you want a ride with me?" A guy in a letterman jacket approaches Lux at her locker. She closes it abruptly and looks up to him. He has an arrogant look that says he probably has every girl in the school at his pick. She's not impressed at all.

"No, thanks. I was having a very good day and I would like it to remain that way by not inflating your ego." She turns and heads away.

"Burn. You know where to get a piece of this if you're interested." He says anyway.

"I doubt that." She exits.

"Keep it in your pants, Jonas. Mini Fabray doesn't want your sweet loving." A blonde woman in a tracksuit passes by. She figures she might be Coach Sue Sylvester. And she just knew she was Quinn Fabray's daughter. Lux shivers.

"I'm Jones." He mutes.

She doesn't even look back. "I don't care, Jonas." Lux takes advantage of the moment and gets out of that uncomfortable situation.

As she comes out the building she sees a familiar motorcycle and smiles. Someone touches her shoulder and she screams a little.

"Hey. Sorry." She turns to Seth. Lux shakes her head. "Here are my number and Anna's, in case you need something or want to talk."

"Thank you." She smiles genuinely. Seth waves and walks out of sight between the sea of students heading out of school.

Lux pockets the sheet of paper she's just been handed and grabs her phone, looking through the contacts for Rachel's number, eyeing the motorcycle and its occupant still from the top of the stairs.

"Hello." She answers after a couple of rings. "I'm getting tied here for about twenty minutes more, I've got some things to discuss with Mr. Shue. Do you mind waiting a little bit?"

"Actually..." She starts. "Bug managed to come here. I was thinking of going with him for a drink and going home with him."

"It's a school night." Rachel warns her.

"He works tomorrow, he won't stay long." The blonde comes back.

"I would like you be home for dinner." Rachel gives the order with some trouble. She doesn't want Lux rebelling against her.

"Sure." She hangs up, pockets her phone and starts coming down the stairs and into Bug's arms.

"Hey, how was your day?" He says when they bump together.

"Long." Lux puts her arms around Bug's neck.

He chuckles and kisses her lips longingly.

"Hop on." He hands her a helmet.

"I've got a problem." Rachel states.

"What? What is it?" An agitated Lucy answers from the other side of the line.

"I like Bug, but I don't know how to handle him and Lux being together." She explains.

There's some brushing at the other side of the line. "I hate you. I just spilled tea all over a copy of a book I got sent today from work."

"Well, that means you probably shouldn't publish it." The brunette chuckles.

"I'm through the first one hundred pages and it's boring, maybe you're right."

The brunette chuckles and then says again. "Seriously, I don't know what to do."

"And I'm supposed to know? I gave her up for adoption and I haven't been near a child ever since."

"She's a teenager."

"I haven't been near a teenager since I was a teenager."

"That's sad."

"My job doesn't usually involve people that age."

"So what do I do?"

"I still don't know what the problem is."

"Sex." That stuns Lucy into silence. "I mean... I don't know how to approach the subject with Lux. Do I have to talk with her? Do I assume she knows everything?"

"She's sixteen. I think she know about it."

"But do I allow it? You were sixteen when you got pregnant."

She hears Lucy take a deep breath. "I think you should talk to her, tell her it's fine but she should be safe." She takes another breath. "I was ignorant back then, she should be informed."

"Yeah, yeah. You're right. I... I was freaking out."

"So... how was her first day at McKinley?" Lucy asks changing the topic.

"I think it went well. I haven't talked to her yet. She said we couldn't talk at school. Wouldn't be cool or something."

The blonde chuckles. "Sounds about right."

"I'll have you know I'm a very cool teacher. I like to interact with my students."

"I don't doubt that, but teachers are uncool by definition."

"I still resent it." She huffs. "Anyway, I will talk with her tonight at dinner. She's now off with Bug. I hope this isn't a regular thing, though, because she needs time to do her homework and study and if that boy is coming over every day, it's going to be hard..."

"Don't worry too much, Rachel. Let's see how things play out."

"I'm going to keep thinking about this all afternoon." Lucy thinks she can hear her pout over the phone.

The blonde stands from the chair in her studio and goes around the house. Checking. "Yeah? What can I do to keep your mind off that?"

"Um, don't know." She shrugs her shoulders a bits her lip before adding. "Treat me to a coffee?"

Lucy chuckles. "See you at the Lima Bean in ten?"

"I'd like that. See you." She ends up her call and moves towards her car with a smile.

Bug parks his bike. "I guessed you would want us a little bit out of Rachel's hair. I thought this could be good." He gets a blanket from the bike and walks inside the park. He chooses a nice place with a good view of his bike and extends the blanket. "If you get cold or something, we could go to your place."

"It's ok." Lux says lying on the blanket and grabbing Bug's hand as he still stands. "I won't be much cold..." She pulls him down and they both chuckle us he falls almost over her. "No, not really." She plays with his collar and finally starts the make out session.

A few minutes after, they roll over and Bug's back hits the grass. "Hey, hey. Mud."

Lux chuckles and stands so they can go back on the blanket. However, something catches her eyes. She turns to see the arrogant boy in the letterman jacket from school and who she assumes are a couple of his friends, around Bug's bike.

"Bug..." She warns. His eyes follow hers and he's on his feet in seconds.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" He approaches them.

The arrogant one is sitting on the bike, checking it out. "Is this your bike?" Bug doesn't even answer. "It's a pretty good one."

"I'm surprised you even know about bikes..." He relaxes a little bit when the guy comes off the motorbike.

"Of course. My father was going to buy me one of this if we won the league, but we got second." He flicks his eyes from Bug to Lux. "Hey, new girl. Is this your boyfriend?"

"You know him?" Bug whispers, without taking his eyes off him. The boy just wiggles her eyebrows and winks, with a smile fixed in his lips.

"It's a jackass who was trying to hit on me on school today."

He chuckles. "Just the type, yeah." He laughs.

One of his friends, broader than the jackass, takes a step forward.

"What are you saying?"

"My girlfriend..." He marks. "...is telling me that your friend tried hitting on her today."

"What if he did. What are you laughing about?"

"I know her and I know his type. She wouldn't get near him even if he was the last man on earth." Bug keeps laughing and Lux puts a hand on his shoulder when she sees the guy take his fist back.

Bug reacts just in time and the fist punches the air, but the fight is full on.

Rachel is driving home after having coffee with Lucy. She got a call and had to cut their coffee time short, though she didn't explain much. So, Rachel took her time and drove back home.

It's still a little bit early, so she thinks about dropping by her parents and check personally how her daddy is doing. She takes the shortest way to her childhood house and can't help but noticing some kind of fight in the street walk by the park and a blonde head very familiar.

She stops the car immediately and it's out in seconds. She runs to the boys fighting and grabs the jacket of the bigger one just as he's arching his arm back to gain impulse.

"Ouch!" She screams as his elbow impacts in her nose.

"Fuck. It's Berry." They say to each other. The pain makes her take her hands to her nose and she can feel the blood start dripping. The guys looks at each other and starts walking backwards and finally, away from the scene.

"Rachel!" Lux is at her side, grabbing her arm insistently, trying to make her move her hands a little bit to examine the damage. Though by the blood dripping, it can't be good. She reaches for some tissues to stop it. "Bug." She just says as she looks at her boyfriend.

"How are you feeling? Do you think it's broken?"

"I... I don't know... It hurts like hell."

"Let's go to the hospital. Where is the nearest one?" Bug and Lux push her towards her car gently.

Rachel clears her head enough to say. "A block ahead. Can... can you drive?"

"Yeah. Don't worry." Lux and Rachel get in the backseat and Bug pulls the car from the driveway.

Sure enough, a block ahead he finds the hospital. He leaves them in the main entrance. "Go ahead, Lux. I'll park the car and get my bike. I'll be right in, okay?"

She brushes him off and goes quickly inside with Rachel. They take her in almost immediately to try to make the bleeding stop.

"I'm sorry, but you can't go in." A woman tells Lux.

"But... I'm her... She's my foster parent." She explains.

"Don't worry, honey. A doctor will come out shortly."

She's left there pacing the waiting room. She can't stay still and keeps checking the front entrance, waiting for Bug, and the double doors where Rachel disappeared to.

She worries her lip as she does a recognition of the waiting room full of people. She doesn't like one bit hospitals.

Suddenly, they roll a gurney in. A blonde woman lays semi unconscious on it. Lux can't help watching her until the woman might notice and looks at her.

"Quinn... Quinn!" She tries to scream but comes more like a whispers. Lux doesn't realize she's so close until the woman grabs her hand. "I'm sorry, honey. I knew it, I knew you were pregnant. I should have prepared your father... I'm so sorry he kicked you out. But I can't... Quinn..."

The paramedics try to get her out off the way, but the woman's hold on her hand is unbelievably strong for her obvious weak state. Lux jumps a little bit when she feels a hand on her shoulder and another on the hand the woman is clutching.

"Mom. It's me, Quinn."

Lucy squeezes Lux's shoulder as she sees her mother look back and forth between them. The woman drops the younger's blonde hand and places it over her mouth. The paramedics take advantage to wheel her inside.

Again, the same woman who talked to Lux, says the same to Lucy.

"I know, I know." She brushes her off. Lux is immobile, so she turns around her and hold her shoulders. The blonde looks her up and down. "What are you doing here?" Her hands pass from her daughter's shoulders to her face. "What happened? Are you ok?"

Finally, Lux snaps out of it. "I... Yeah... Fine. Rachel..."

"What happened to Rachel?"

"She got a pretty good hit to her nose. It may be broken."

"Oh my... again?" She mumbles.

"Who... Was that... your mother?" She asks now.

It takes a few seconds, but a sad smile appears on Lucy's face. She slides her arm behind Lux's back and guides her to a vacant seat. They seat next to each other and Lucy takes her hand.

"Yeah. That's my mom, your grandmother I guess. Judy Fabray." She explains.

"What happened to her?" The young blonde asks curiously.

Lucy lets her head hang. "I came home and found her lying on the couch. There were plenty of pills on the floor, so I called an ambulance."

"Aren't you freaking out?" Lux asks bluntly, but as she does she honestly can't stay still.

"I am. I really am." She nods, putting her hand over Lux's shoulder. "But we can't do anything right now. Just wait for the doctors." She smiles when she feels Lux's head relax and land on her shoulder. "You're ok. Everybody's going to be ok." She says as she closes her eyes, much like her daughter.

After a couple of minutes, she chuckles sadly. "You know? I was supposed to be here to help her." Lux raises her head. "She's been depressed and I came back here to help her, to make things right." Lucy shakes her head sadly. "I'm not sure it has helped much."

Lux bites her lip. The questions she's been asking herself since she met back with her almost dropping off her lips. "What was it like? When you were my age?"

"What did Rachel tell you?" She frowns.

"Not much. She said it was for you to explain if we ever met again." She shrugs a little bit.

Lucy takes her mind back to those years and involuntarily gains comfort in the short space between her and her daughter, putting Lux's head back in her shoulder and resting her own on her smooth blonde hair.

"My parents... they were very catholic, though at the end of the day, they only cared about appearances. My sister and I were the perfect kids. Well mannered, well dressed. Eventually my older sister grew up and became the perfect wife to a man very much like my father. I honestly didn't think that was so great. I viewed like thinking inside of a box and thinking like an abomination of everything outside." She pauses.

"My father gave the Berries a hard time. I remember some of the horrible things he used to say about gay men rising a child."

She bits her lip when she finally gets to the hard part. "I didn't want to get pregnant at sixteen, but when I did I took it like a gift from above. However, my parents didn't view it as such..." She finishes.

"Is it true?" Lux asks. Lucy looks at her quizzically. "Did they kick you out of your home, pregnant and all?"

Lucy closes her eyes, but there's no point in denying it. "Yes. When I was almost four months pregnant I couldn't keep it a secret any longer. They set an alarm and gave me half an hour to pack my things and be out."

They stay a few minutes in silence, pondering the confessions that just have been made. After a while, there's more questions bugging Lux's mind.

"But..."

"Excuse me." A doctor has stepped out and is standing just in front of them. "Are you Judy Fabray's family?"

"Yes. I'm her daughter." Lucy stands up. "This is her granddaughter."

"I can see the resemblance." He looks at both of them. "I'm her doctor. We did everything we were able and got all the pills out of her system. You were lucky to find her when you did. Any longer and it would have been very bad." He just says. "She's stable, but still unconscious. She will at least have to spend the night."

"Thanks, doctor." Lucy says relieved.

"Excuse me, doctor." He turns to her. "Do you know something about Rachel Berry? She came in before Judy Fabray with a broken nose?"

"Oh." He recognizes.

"She's my foster parent." She begs.

"It's not fractured. I was there before the other emergency came up. She's getting taken care of and won't be here much longer." He checks his clipboard and speaks to both of them. "She came with you?"

"Yes."

"If you want to be there when Mrs. Fabray wakes up, I can tell Ms. Berry where you are." He offers.

Lucy doesn't want to leave Lux alone, so she nods. "Thank you, doctor." After speaking the words, she thinks about the reality of her mother meeting her daughter. Can any good come out of that? She guesses she'll find out.

After Lucy's affirmation, Lux can't process it all. A week ago she didn't have a clue where she came from. Now, she knows her parents and she's going to meet her grandmother. And she has a new friend, although she doesn't know whether Rachel's loyalties rest in Lucy's or her side.

The younger blonde looks around the waiting room and finds Bug with two coffees in his hands. He nods reassuringly and she feels her hand being pulled towards the doubled doors.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I do not own Glee nor Life Unexpected. And I also don't own The Secret Circle, otherwise I would have kept Britt Robertson there for another season.**

**Disclaimer: I know, I'm mad at myself, it shouldn't have taken me so long... I guess life keeps getting in the way: essays, exams,.. the usual**

**Chapter - 8**

Lucy walks through the corridors, following a nurse, to the room where her mother is recovering after taking several pills. She is dragging her daughter along, clinging to her hand like it was a lifeboat.

Judy Fabray kicked her out when she was a sixteen year old pregnant girl. She welcomed her back into her house when she gave the baby up, but never really tried to mend the broken relationship. Obviously Lucy didn't induce her into drinking nor did she make her divorce her dad. But still, she feels guilty for everything that's happened. If only she could go back and never get pregnant...

However she looks at the hand in hers, at her brown eyes. No. Lux has nothing to do with this. She was a blessing, someone that God sent to make Lucy see who she was and stop pretending for them. If Lucy hadn't disappointed her parents by getting pregnant, she would have done so when choosing her major.

They stop at the door of a room and the nurse reminds them that they'll only have limited time and that she probably would be sleeping. She walks away and Lucy turns around.

Lux can see that she's crumbling, fear is sweeping through her cool features. The wall the blonde had built for her emotions is falling down and the realization of what could have happened is washing over.

On instinct, Lux drops her mother's hand and puts both arms around her head. Lucy rests it over Lux's shoulder and cries silently.

It feels awkward calming down her mother now when so many nights as a little girl she wished for someone to hold her and do the same.

She squeezes her shoulders and pushes her to stand again. Her hands travel automatically to the hazel orbs and weep the tears falling from them down her marble cheeks. Lux smiles and finally a watery smile lights Lucy's face. This time is the younger one who takes her mother's hand and pushes her through the door.

They stop just as they pass the door. There's a slim figure on the bed. She is visibly weak and asleep, as the nurse told them she would be. In the blink of an eye, Lucy is by her side, grabbing her hand, careful not to hurt her.

She methodically brushes her hair back, trying to smooth it. The caress awakens somehow Judy and she opens her eyes.

"Hey." Lucy says in a whispers. She can read the alarm in her eyes. "It's ok. You're going to be ok. You... got a little carried away taking pills. But the doctors say you will be ok." She explains. "You scared me very much." She is almost losing it. Lucy gives her a weak smile and kisses her forehead.

Judy tries to speak, but her throat is sore and dry. Lux looks around and finds a glass of water near the bed. She reaches it and passes it to Lucy.

"Thanks." She smiles.

Judy widens her eyes, still unable to speak. Lucy helps her sipping a little bit of water and she tries to speak again.

"She looks... is she...?" She coughs.

Lucy helps her to drink a little bit more and nods to Lux.

"I..." She starts. "My name is Lux, Ms. Fabray. I'm... kind of your grand daughter... biologically."

Lucy chuckles at her formality and looks again to her mother. Her eyes are wide open right now. She is visible tired, but still she manages to bore her eyes directly to hers, enquiring.

"Yes, mom." She concedes, quietly.

Judy looks at Lux from head to toe, then she stares right into her eyes, reading her. She closes her eyes and gives a watery smile in her direction.

After a while she realizes that Judy seems almost to have frozen in that position. She looks at the monitors and chuckles.

"She fell asleep." She tells Lucy.

"Well, you can't blame her. She must be tired." She rounds the bed and comes to a stop just beside the blonde girl. "She's happy, though. I can tell."

Lux is still looking to her grandmother. Grandmother... wow. "She smiled at me." She smiles herself. This is still a little overwhelming.

"Yeah." Lucy is visibly more relaxed now that she's seen her mother. She is also capable of seeing the distress it's caused Lux. She bites her lip and moves her hand up and down Lux's arm. "She's asleep now. What do you say if we go find Rachel?"

"Sure." Lux mutes.

As they step out the room, they almost bump into a tiny figure. "Not again, please." The brunette covers quickly.

"Oh my gosh, Rachel, are you ok?" Lux is quickly by her side. "How are you?" She examines her nose, slightly swelled up.

"I'll be fine. Now it just hurts." She says for both of them as she pouts a little bit making Lux pout too.

Lucy stands by for a minute and smiles again at how much Rachel and Lux have taken each other in. The brunette loves her to death, already. She sighs. Finally she's sure her daughter is in a good place. Better late than ever, she hopes. Maybe there's a place in Lux's world for her, she keeps hoping.

Rachel spots her. "What happened, Lucy? They told me you came in with your mother. I can't believe we are meeting again in a hospital." The brunette takes a step forward and grabs Lucy's hands.

"My mom. She was unconscious when I came back from the coffee shop." She just says and the pout appears again in the brunette's face. It really is a little funny seeing a pout appear under a huge kind of band aid over her swelled up nose.

"Is she going to be ok?" Rachel asks with true worry.

It really is cute and Lucy can't hide her smile, so she takes their joined hands and gives the brunette's a light kiss. Very intimate, now that she thinks it through, but comfortable. "Yes. She's just going to stay tonight in observation. But she already woke up, right, Lux?"

"That's right. And she fell asleep a couple of minutes after." She smiles.

Now, Rachel is looking back at Lucy. She squints a little bit her eyes and looks for a second towards her daughter, then goes back to Rachel and raises her eyebrow a little bit. The brunette just nods.

"Your silent communication sucks." The teenager mutters.

Rachel chooses to ignore her. "What are you going to do, Lucy? Are you going home now?"

"I guess. They told me I couldn't stay much here. She's in observation, it's not like she has her own room. And she'll be sleeping almost the whole night, so..."

"You came in the ambulance with her, right?" Lux asks, innocently.

The blonde shrugs. "Yes. I'll take a cab."

"Nonsense. You're going to drive my car." Rachel commands and Lucy raises her eyebrow in disbelief. "They gave me some good stuff for the pain and I can't drive. If you drive us to your house, we can walk home. It's only two blocks away." She shrugs. "That way Bug doesn't have to drive my car and come back from his bike." She explains to Lux.

Lucy stays silent for a while, pondering. "There's really no point saying no, right?"

"I don't think so." The brunette shakes her head.

"Okay. But I'm dropping you off at your house." She turns back. "Just... wait a minute, ok? I'd like to say goodbye."

"Sure." She nods.

Lucy excuses herself and goes back into the room. Rachel doesn't wait a minute and faces Lux.

"Hey. How was everything?" She tries nonchalant.

Lux arches her eyebrow much like her mother. "I feel like I should be the one asking that question."

"You'll get your chance to hear that story. I'm more interested right now in how you are feeling." She puts a hand over her shoulder. "I thought maybe it was too much meeting both your parents in such a short time. Today you had your first day in your new high school and it ended meeting your grandmother."

"I see your point. I'm... fine." She shrugs.

"You have to talk to someone. I don't care who it is. You know you can talk to me if you want to. You could talk to Bug or Tasha. Maybe Lauren? Or even, if you'd like, you could go to a family therapist. This is way too complicated and I'm scared that you'll end up with all of that bottled up, creating a huge trauma." She worries her lip. "It really is a serious thing."

Lux stays still for a few seconds and then she just nods slowly. "I'll think about it."

Rachel knows that she has to do some internal debating about who is she going to trust with everything that's going on her mind right now. The brunette slides her hand down Lux's chin and brings up her face, so she can look at her in the eye and seemingly into her soul.

"I just want what's best for you. I don't want you to be overwhelmed." She says gently.

Spot on. Lux thought.

"If you feel that it's too much, just tell me and I'll make it stop for a while, until you are ready, ok?" She pauses and it eventually sinks in that she's talking about pushing away from Lucy for her, even though she isn't sure yet who was more excited to meet her again.

"I might have an idea of how you are feeling." That gets Lux's attention. "When I found a tape - yes, it was very long ago - of my mother's voice, I resisted listening to it at first. I wasn't ready at the moment."

"It's not the same." She knows. She read about it on the internet. Her mother was a subrogate who was paid for having her and then vanished. She knew what she got into when she got pregnant.

"I know. I'm just saying..." A nurse comes by.

"Mrs. Berry? This is your prescription. You should take one as soon as you start feeling pain and then wait at least 8 hours and take it if you feel pain again, ok?"

"Got it. Thank you." She smiles. The nurse goes away. "I actually am in pain right now..." She bites her lip. Lux shrugs and Rachel takes one pill with a sip of water from a bottle in her bag.

There's movement and finally Lucy comes out of the room.

"Everything ok?" She asks.

"Yes." Rachel smiles innocently first and then nods slightly. "Your mother's still sleeping?" Rachel adds.

"Yes. It seems she's out for the night." She shrugs. "I'll come back early in the morning. So if you're all ready, we can go now."

"Sure. Let's go."

Rachel grabs Lux's arm and leads the way outside. When they reach the waiting room, they immediately spot Bug.

"Hey." Lux calls. He is on his feet in a heartbeat, retrieves his things from the chair next to him and meets them.

"Hey." He stands in front of Rachel and hands her a little teddy bear with a heart saying 'get well soon'. "I'm really sorry. How are you feeling?"

"Aaw." She takes the teddy bear. "Thank you, Robert." Lux turns to Rachel, Bug widens his eyes but doesn't say a word. "Oops!" She laughs.

Lucy chuckles by their side, thoroughly amused. "Nice drugs, huh, Rach?"

"Very." She closes her eyes and hums contently. "I like it when you call me Rach."

Lucy blushes and cuts her. "I think the drugs are really kicking in now. Lux? Robert?" She says his name with too much formality. She drops the mocking tone, though. "Maybe we should get her home."

"Yeah, right. Guess it was too soon to take that second pill." Lux steps in. "Let's go."

They walk towards the parking lot and Bug gives her car keys to Lucy, then turns to Lux. The blonde puts her hand over his cheek and gives him an apologetically smile. Rachel stumbles to the back seat of the car.

"I'll follow you home. Go with them." He gives her a brief kiss and walks to his bike.

Lucy is in front of the door to the back seat, staring at the brunette. When Lux comes by her mother's side, she sees that she's lying down the whole back seat.

"That won't do." Lucy shakes her head.

Lux nods. "I'll go to the other side, you stay here. We'll make her sit down and buckle her." Lucy nods and Lux walks to the other side. "Also, I think it'll be best if I ride back here."

"Yeah, ok."

Lux pushes her gently to a sitting position and Lucy helps buckle her up. As the car finally start, Rachel starts humming with the radio.

"They said it was going to hurt. I was very scared about the pain. But I only see little lights."

"Yeah, they gave you awesome drugs just in case..." Lux mumbles and that makes Rachel snap her head in her direction.

The brunette fixes her eyes on her and stares for entirely too much time at her. The blonde is starting to feel uncomfortable, actually.

"You're so pretty." Rachel finally speaks. Lux bites her lip and widens her eyes. She does what she can to hold her laugh. Lucy is doing the same if the look in the rearview mirror is any indication. "Seriously, Lux... you are so beautiful."

The petite girl extends her hand and after two tries, she brushes her hair. Lux is totally bewildered and Lucy can't hold it anymore.

"It must be the gens, because you are as beautiful as your mother." The older blonde stops abruptly and blushes and the younger one chuckles. "Lux... Lucy..." She says slowly. "Lux, Lucy, Lux, Lucy." She chants and starts to awkwardly dance. "Isn't it funny your names start the same way?"

"Actually, her name is Elizabeth. I chose it." Lucy says from the driver seat.

"I thought it was Puck who named me?"

"He wanted to call you Beth, but I liked Elizabeth better. Still has Beth in it and it's beautiful, royal. We agreed." She comments.

"Huh." Lux acknowledges.

"But you go now by Lux. We didn't choose that one."

"Yeah. I know. They told me a nurse gave it to me. It means 'light'. You know?"

Lucy looks at her daughter through the rearview mirror and smiles. "I like it. You're like a ray of light."

It's an intense moment. They can tell. "Woah, the sky is so pretty." The brunette interrupts and takes a chuckle out of both blondes.

"I don't know much about the relationship between you and Rachel in high school, but... didn't she ever tried to make you name me Barbra? Or Fanny?" She laughs.

"I don't remember... but would you have liked been named that?" Lux scrunches up her nose and shakes her head. "Or are you asking that just to see if I tell you something more about that time?" Lux bites her lip.

Lucy chuckles. "Let's see..." She thinks. "Rachel and I weren't actually best friends. I was head cheerio and she was the annoying tiny girl who wore animal sweaters and was captain of 8 out of 10 clubs in high school. She used to irritate me."

"She started getting more annoying when my boyfriend, Finn, joined Glee club and she started chasing after him." Lucy parks in their driveway, stops the car and looks at Rachel, who is still looking out the window. "Most of it was jealousy, you know?" She chuckles. "She already was very talented back then and her determination to get what she wanted was outstanding." Rachel moves slightly and Lucy wonders if she really is still out of it. She sighs. "Anyway, we practically spent our whole high school years fighting over a knucklehead. Only at the end we seemed to have come to a sort of friendship. And it was only because of her sheer determination to get to know me and be my friend."

"It sounds like you were pretty guarded in high school." Lux muses.

"It wasn't easy for me. It has taken me a long time to come to where I am now." She stares at Rachel, who is paying all the attention she's capable of while still looking through the window. "But the walls are lower now."

Lux raises her eyebrow and then watches the tweak of a smile in Rachel's lips. "Come on. Help me get her to bed." The blonde unbuckles her seatbelt and then the brunette's. She goes around the car and pulls her door open.

They manage to put her to bed and the brunette falls quickly asleep.

"Thank you for helping us." Lux says, standing awkwardly in the living room.

"Thank you for coming with me to see my mother."

"Yeah. I hope she gets better." She nods as she hugs herself.

Lucy opens and closes her hands, making them into fists, and... finally can't contain anymore and envelopes her daughter in a hug out of impulse.

"I'm sorry." She apologizes as she retracts.

"It's ok." Lux says, but her eyes are anywhere but on the older blonde. It makes Lucy tear a little bit, seen her daughter so conflicted.

She vows to give her all the stability and all the answers to her question she can muster, when she's ready for it. "Take care, ok?"

"Yeah."

Bug comes around and gives her a sandwich. "I thought maybe you'd be hungry. And... I helped myself."

Honestly, she hasn't thought about it, but... yeah. "Thank you." She smiles tiredly looking up to him. Just behind his head, she can see the clock. "Oh, Bug... you've to go. It's so late."

He shrugs, letting the plate on the counter. "Come here." He wraps his arms around her little frame and feels how she lets go. Lux closes her eyes as Bug presses a kiss to her temple. "I'll text you when I get back. And I'll see you soon."

As Bug leaves, the landline starts ringing. Lux grabs the cordless phone.

"Hello?"

"Oh... eh, hello. This is Will Shuester. You must be Lux, right?"

"Um, yeah, Principal Shuester..."

"How was your first day at our school?"

"Fine." She just says. "Listen, Principal..."

"Call me Mr. Shue. Most of you kids do, anyway."

"Oh, okay, Mr. Shue. Listen... Rachel and I just came back from the hospital. We had a little incident and she got hit in the nose. She's on very heavy pain medication."

"Oh, my... so it's true."

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, I just had Quinn Fabray calling me up and saying the same thing. It was actually pretty weird. I haven't heard about her since she graduated."

Lux chuckles. "Yeah, well. Apparently she's my mother, maybe you'll hear some more soon."

"Woah, just woah..."

"Imagine how I feel."

"Yeah, all right. So... tell Rachel to not worry about tomorrow. Quinn told me she will be giving you a ride to school."

"Oh, did she?" Lux whispers.

"And I just want you to know that if you need it, you can talk to me or my wife Emma, the guidance counselor at McKingley. I understand it might be overwhelming..."

"Yeah, ok. Thanks, Mr. Shue. See you."

"See you at school."

Lux grabs her sandwich and wonders towards Rachel's room and sees her breathing slowly on her bed. She feels drained for the day but knows she won't be able to get to sleep. Rachel tosses and turns.

"Hey, you." She says quietly. "Come here."

The blonde hesitates a moment and Rachel makes space in her bed. Lux gets into the brunette's bed and she kisses her head gently.

"You are okay." Lux closes her eyes hard, trying to believe it. "Whatever happens, you are not alone. So whatever may come, we'll face it, ok? Together."


	9. Chapter 9

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or Life Unexpected.**_

_**A/N: Speeding up things in this chapter. If you guys haven't watched Life Unexpected, it doesn't really matter... I only picked up the some names and the basic plot line and adapted to Glee. It's a really good show, though, so I recommend it.**_

**Chapter - 9**

Lucy does give her a ride the next day to school on her way to the hospital. They do some small talk. She asks her about Rachel and Lux thanks her for calling Mr. Shue for Rachel.

Things seem to come to a normal sequence. She's met more people thanks to Glee club. Weirdly enough, the three cheerios from her first day are in the club. Even though they're all part of the same club, it doesn't make them treat her better, not that they speak to her much anyway. But there's pretty cool people there.

Anna, for once, is there, although she doesn't sing much, she's pretty gifted with the piano. Lux starts suspecting that the reason she didn't join the band instead was actually her guardian, but it doesn't matter. What does matter is that Seth and Anna have become her best friends in Lima and although she still misses very much Bug and Tasha, she doesn't feel all that lonely at school anymore.

Rachel's nose goes back to her normal size and she only misses a couple of days of school. Jones is there pretty early in the morning to apologize to her on his and his friends behalf, with chocolates and a sorry smile on his face, which kind of throws her bad guy pretense off the window. She's still an arrogant jock, though, who keeps hitting on her.

True to her promise, they go back to Colombus every weekend. Rachel drives her, under some pretense to buy something, maybe chocolates for her father, and Tasha and Lux spend the day just hanging out. With Bug is easier, because he has a bike and a phone, so they chat all the time and when she's feeling down, he manages to come around.

Her relationship with Lucy gets easier. She is beginning to understand why she did give her up when she was a baby, understands that her mother wasn't in a good position to bring her up, and although there are few question still bugging her, they can begin to build a sort of friendship.

Rachel is the best companion she would have wanted. She helps her every chance she gets, she already knows her, how she reacts. It's an strange connection, really. One that she only thought she would have with her mother, but meanwhile that is still complicated and in the building process, Rachel is there for her. They did just click in and their relationship has worked effortlessly.

Lux goes back to Puck. She finally asks him for his signature in the form, though she wishes she never had. The look in his eyes is something that she will never forget and will always regret causing. He's hurt. Hurt that after reuniting he isn't enough to make her daughter want to stay around.

"I don't know if I'll be able to do much, even with both of your signatures in here. And, anyways... Rachel has bowed to stalk me even if I do get emancipated."

It's an intense conversation. More so when Lucy steps into the pub looking for her.

"Hey, guys." Lucy salutes. She takes the mood they are in. "Are you two all right?" She gets around them and sees the form on the table. "Oh..."

"Hi, Lucy." Lux says quietly.

Puck just glares at her for a while. The phone starts ringing. "Lux... could you get that?"

"Sure..." She says and she walks away to the back of the pub to answer it. "Please, call later." She hangs up and wanders back out, without being seen.

"You signed it." Puck's voice is a little hurt and a little bit more angry.

"Yes." The older blonde mutes.

"I wanted to keep her. You gave her away. I understood. I really understood. We couldn't take care of her." He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes briefly. "But why..." He grabs the form and flaunts it in front of her face. "Why did you have to do it again? Now that she's found us. Why?"

"Puck... we don't have the right to keep her now." She says calmly. There are tears in her eyes, or so Lux thinks by the way she keeps reaching for the corner of them. "We gave her up, we lost the rights to be called her parents, to tell her what to do or what not to do. I couldn't say no when she asked me to give her the only thing she wanted from me. That's just a paper, Puck. We gave up our rights sixteen years ago." Lucy says. "We can't make her stay with us... as much as we want to."

Puck leaves the form on the counter and looks down. Lucy takes a step towards him. Lux has never seen him like this and feels a little intimidated, but Lucy seems to be calm.

"I understand what you're going through." She puts her hand over his shoulder. "We can't make her stay. We can only do our best so she wants to keep coming to us."

"I really hate that you are right."

"I hate it too." She says with a smile.

Lux wonders again into the back room and yanks the phone, hard. "This sucks, Puck!" She yells from there. "You do know there are wireless phones, right?" She takes the receiver and the wire and appears at the door.

"What did you do? Who was it?"

"I don't know!" She exclaims. "It came apart before I could hear anything and I wasn't able to plug it back in." She explains.

Puck takes it and goes to the back to fix it. Lux walks to the counter and plops herself on a stool. Lucy looks at her with an eyebrow up.

"What?" She asks innocently.

Lucy chuckles. "If you have any questions, just ask them." She says.

Lux bites her lip, because obviously, she's been caught, but also, there's one question left. She looks again at Lucy, who's staring at her encouragingly.

"Would you want me to stay around?"

She shakes her head and Lux's heart falls. "I would want to hold you close and keep you forever. I've missed so much, you have no idea... I've thought about you every day for the lasts sixteen years and I couldn't do a thing. I don't want you to be out of my sight again."

"But then why..."

"Because of what you just heard... and because I just can't force you to trust me. It's something I need to gain from you. I want to be there for you to gain that trust."

Puck comes back into the room a little less frustrated. "It seems it's working again." He stops on his tracks. "Everything ok?"

Lucy raises her eyebrow to her daughter and waits for her to answer. She turns around with an innocent smile on her lips. "Ok." She simply says.

"Okay, kiddo. You have to go now, right?" He grabs the pen and signs the form. Lux scrunches her brows at the term, but rolls with it.

"I guess. Rachel should be here by now."

"Actually, that's why I'm here." Lucy jumps in. Lux and Puck looks at her. "She called me and told me she couldn't take you today to Colombus. They're taking Leroy to the hospital..." Lux jumps from her stool. "He's ok. She assured me and then asked me if I didn't mind taking you. And I don't, so whenever you're ready."

Lux looks at Puck and he shrugs. "See you later, 'kay? But don't call me kiddo, I'm sixteen for god's sake."

He chuckles. "Ok. Later, Lux. Lucy."

They go out and up in Lucy's car. "Is Leroy really ok?" She says quietly. "I'm not a kid anymore, I can handle these things."

"I don't really know that much either. I guess he's doing really well considering, but it's very tough and he's losing his strength." Lucy bits her lip and starts the engine.

They drive the first few miles in absolute silence.

"Have you thought about having more children?" Lux asks.

It comes out of the blue and shocks Lucy, who frowns a little. After some pondering, she answers. "Not really."

Lux bits her lip. "But... is it because you don't want children or because you haven't met the person to have them with?"

She shakes her head a little. "Both, I guess." She stops for a minute and then continues explaining. "I already have a child, I... I haven't been able to think about having a child I'll be able to keep, because it would be unfair to you and a constant reminder that I wasn't there for you." She swallows. "Also, I haven't met the person to have them with or even think about having them with."

"Haven't you had a stable relationship in these sixteen years?"

Lucy looks at Lux nervously for a sec and then straight ahead again.

"I was in a four years long relationship that started when I was in college and after trying to make it work in the real life, it just didn't. That was the longest relationship I've ever had."

"Was it with the woman who pushed you out the closet?" Lux tries and chuckles when Lucy looks back at her, raising her eyebrow incredulous.

"I was halfway out when I met her, actually. Not that it's a secret or something, but... how did you know?"

"I didn't. It was just a theory." She chuckles again. "Not a chance you end up again with Puck, huh?"

Lucy looks at her and scrunches her face. "He never was my type. Now I can say it out loud." She joins Lux in her laugh. When they serious up a little, she asks. "You don't a problem with that, do you?"

"With you being gay? Not at all."

"That means that you do have a problem with something?" Lucy points out.

"Just the fact that I wasn't born, not even conceived out of love." She shrugs.

"Hey, I do love Puck, just... not that kind of love and I was too messed up to know the difference back then. And from the moment I knew I was pregnant, you were loved. So that's not true."

"Ok." She stares through the window and loses herself in her thoughts again and Lucy seems to do the same. After a while, the younger blonde's thoughts lead her to a funny theory once again. She hides the smirk that's starting to appear on her face and speaks again. "Do you know if Rachel is dating anyone?"

Lucy's eyebrows jump to her hairline. "I really don't know. Shouldn't you talk that stuff with her instead of me?"

"Yeah, you're right." She muses. "But I was just wondering. I was her fan and I never read anything about Rachel hooking up with anyone." She ponders. "Once she was spotted holding hands with her male co-star, but a couple of months after the premiere, he was out the closet. Made me wonder if she is gay, too."

"Still don't know what you want me to say, Lux. I don't know and it's something personal. She'll tell you when and if she's ready. And anyway, in high school she was pretty straight."

She puts her hands up and points to herself. "So were you."

Lucy chuckles. "Ok, whatever. Anyway, I don't think that's Rachel's case."

Lux bits her lip. "Aw, you look disappointed."

"I... no" She shakes her head and Lux bits her lip again, trying to stifle her laugh. "Why would I be disappointed that Rachel isn't gay?" Lucy looks to her daughter with some realization in her eyes.

"No reason." She answers shortly and feels an appointed look from the other blonde while she reaches for her iPhone, checking her messages. She's well aware she's been busted, but now the suggestion is out there. "Bug and Tasha are going to this dinner and are wondering... table for three or four?"

Lucy shrugs. "I don't want to intrude."

"It's fine." Lux shrugs in return.

Lucy ponders her answer. "I suppose it'll be nicer to have lunch with you than alone."

Lux answers Bug and types a quick message to Rachel, to ask about her father. Then she pockets her phone and when she raises again her head, they are already in Colombus, perfectly avoiding going back to the previous topic for now.

"Hey!" Lux practically jumps out of the car and into Bug arms. When Lucy finally steps into the dinner, she sees them still in their little bubble. She looks to the side and finds Tasha looking at through the window.

"Hello, Tasha." She says, sitting by her side. "Is it always like this?"

"These lovebirds? Pretty much." She chuckles and looks quickly to the blonde, then back at the window.

However, that flash is all Lucy needed. She turns to her and nudges the brunette to look at her. "What happened to you?" She says referring to the slightly darkened area on her cheek.

"I fell."

"Yeah, right."

Suddenly, Lux is sitting in front of her, pulling at her hand and caressing it. "Again?" Tasha shrugs nonchalantly.

Lux bites her lip for a second. She knows Tasha won't appreciate being the center of attention in this matter, so she grabs the menu and starts reading.

"I don't feel like getting the usual, but I don't think I have many more options."

"Almost every meal here has either cow or pig in them." Bug helps.

Tasha smiles lightly and grabs her menu, hiding her face behind it. Lucy, after watching everything, follows.

"Hey, Rachel. How's your dad?" Lux says, entering their house and sitting on the couch by the brunette's side. Rachel was clearly comfortable there, feet up on the couch, reading a book with a pair of sweats, a white top and her glasses on.

"Hello, Rach." Lucy follows her daughter inside to check too. She takes slowly in Rachel's appearance and hear Lux chuckle. She looks at her daughter and gives her an angry look. The teenager just shrugs again. Unbelievable, she thinks.

"He's fine." She answers both of them. "Just more tired than usual, but the doctor said he's fine." Lux pouts and gives Rachel a hug. The brunette sighs, takes her glasses off and smiles. "Thanks."

They stay silent for a little while, Lucy still standing marveling at how close those two have grown in so little time. Lux finally notices her watching and retracts from the hug.

"Rachel..." She starts. "When was the last time you were with someone? There has never been anything on the tabloids or the internet..."

"Lux!" Lucy tries to stop her, but the teenager blatantly ignores her.

"Do you even date?" She continues. "What type of man do you like? Or woman?"

"Stop it, Lux." Lucy finally steps in. Rachel looks astonished at their odd behaviour. Lucy sits on the couch by Lux's side. "Why don't you go have a shower, organize your cds or just go to your bedroom. I need to speak to Rachel in private." Lux wiggles her eyebrows. "Not about that." She pouts, but does in fact get up.

"I think I'm going to do some homework, but I'll stay if this is more interesting."

Rachel finally speaks. "You go do your homework and we'll order pizza later." She turns to Lucy. "You'll stay for dinner, right?"

"Okay..."

Rachel turns again to Lux. "Great." The blonde says, turns around and up to her room. When she takes up the little stairs, Rachel looks at Lucy.

"What the hell was that about?" She says with a serious look.

"Oh, nothing. We're just bonding."

"Uh, huh. Bonding." The brunette says suspiciously.

"Yep." She looks around, avoiding Rachel.

"So the trip went well then." She asks when it's obvious she isn't going to get an explanation.

"Yeah, about that..." She gets comfortable on the couch.

Rachel looks suddenly concerned. "What happened?"

"I kind of visited social services when I was around there..."

"What?" In a minute, Rachel's look flickers between surprised and kind of hurt.

"Not about Lux." She assures her quickly. "I want to be in her life, but I don't think that's the way to do it. Also, you guys work great, I wouldn't break you apart. And as long as you are inviting me over for meals, I think this will be a great arrangement." She finishes, amused.

"Oh, ok." Rachel says sheepishly. "I'm sorry I kind of... panicked."

Lucy chuckles. "I understand."

"It's just that I love that kid. I know she's your daughter and is understandable you want her back but I feel..."

"I get it." She nods.

"So, then... what were you doing there?"

"I went to see Lauren, Tasha's social worker."

Rachel raises an eyebrow. "That's Lux's social worker, too. Coincidence?"

"Knowing them, maybe not." Lucy chuckles. "It's just... Tasha is such a good kid, she reminds me a lot of Santana, really."

"I'm sure there's an inconsistency in that statement."

Lucy chuckles again. "They both are nice people deep inside, they just have a funny way of showing it." Rachel shrugs. "Anyway, I asked Lauren what are the chances of me taking care of Tasha." The brunette looks expectantly at her. "I just thought she might be better off with me here, with her own room and near her best friend Lux..."

"Not judging, not judging... I think it's great." Rachel puts her hands up. "What did she say?"

"She was a little worried about the fact that my mother overdose with pills not too long ago, but I tried to convince her that the change would be beneficial for both of them. Still, we don't know what the judge would say, so I haven't told Lux anything yet." She bits her lip. "What do you think?"

"I don't know." She gets quiet and ponders. "Do you think the judge will put Tasha in your custody?"

"It'd be hard, but I had to do something. That girl isn't living in a good place."

"What do you mean?"

"Just a hunch." She shrugs. "Do you think Lux will be mad at me?"

"Why would she be? You want to bring her best friend close to her."

"Yeah, but I'll be taking in Tasha instead of her, my own daughter."

"Maybe you can explain it to her, she'll understand."

"I guess if things go well, I'll explain it to her. I did some of that today. Otherwise I don't want to get her hopes up."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter - 10**

"What was that all about, Rachel?" Lux casually asks when Lucy finally goes home.

The brunette gets the pizza box and carries it to the trash can. "What was?"

"You know... when you sent me upstairs. What was that?"

"Oh, nothing." She shrugs. "What was all of those questions about my love life and the banter with Lucy?"

"Banter? What banter? I was saying I haven't seen you date anyone and I just was curious. Lucy said I was nosy and I should mind my own business."

"That was that?"

Lux nods confidently. "Pretty much."

"I haven't dated anyone because I haven't found anyone I'd like to date." She shrugs. "Broadway is full of arrogant people. And the odd rest who are not, there was no attraction, no chemistry... you know." Lux starts getting uncomfortable. "But I haven't been a nun either. I went out, kept things casual, tried to find a stable relationship, my staff made it so it never reached the press, you know? It was all casual... it never made it too far."

"I get it, I get it." She stops her. "And you haven't been interested in anyone since you came back to Lima?" She tries.

"I..." She furrows her eyebrows. "I've just been hanging around old friends."

"You hooked up with Finn and Puck in high school..."

"That was so, so long ago..." She waves her hand.

"So nobody? You're not attracted to anybody right now?"

"I'm not saying that either. There's more to it. For starts there has to be mutual attraction..."

"Anybody would be attracted to you, you're pretty, sexy and intelligent."

"Thanks. But it's not that easy." The brunette worries a little bit. "Maybe I'm not their type."

"What do you mean?" This is getting interesting for Lux.

"I have a very strong personality that may come pretty harsh to some people..." She huffs. "Plus, if you try to flirt with a woman in Lima and it turns out she isn't gay, things might turn really weird. More so if you want to keep some sort of friendship with said woman." She's tired of getting around it. Also, she trusts Lux won't tell.

Lux chuckles. "I think if that woman doesn't understand, she isn't worth your friendship." She nods. "And by the way, I don't know how many hot women are in your life, but I'm pretty sure that if she is Lucy, she'll be very open about it all."

Rachel gives her a quizzical look, but Lux just smirks. "You were just waiting for me to say it, right?"

"Pretty much." She chuckles and Rachel gives her an annoyed and looks at the clock.

"Look how late it is. We should go to bed." She stands up and rushes Lux. "Come on, get upstairs and in your pajamas."

She goes up her room and starts changing. She looks at the photos hanging in her wall amidst some poster from her favorites bands. One of them features Tasha and her. Tasha has an arm over her shoulder and they are both laughing at something she doesn't even remember. It's a really nice picture and her heart aches for having her best friend so far.

"Hey. Are you ok?" Rachel appears at the feet of her bed. She's been staring at that picture for quite a while.

Suddenly, it struck Lux. "You were talking about Tasha, right?" Rachel keeps quiet and maintains a perfect poker face, but walks around the bed and sits by Lux's side. "It's not that bad, really. There is this group at Riverside that thinks they rule the place. You just have to get out of their way, although sometimes it's not that easy. That's why she had a bruise today."

Rachel gasps involuntarily and Lux chuckles. "She didn't tell you, did she?"

"She didn't go into all those details..." She defends herself. "How can they let it happen?"

Lux shrugs. "Most of the time they look the other way. They are... just accidents."

Rachel huffs. There's nothing she can do about it right now, so she slides her hands around Lux and gives her a little squeeze. Yes, that seems to make it better.

Rachel leaves Lux's room, picks up the cordless phone, walks to her bedroom and dials the number.

"Hey. You miss me already? I only left ten minutes ago." Lucy speaks in the other side.

"What can I say? I'm just realizing how addicting your friendship is." She chuckles and swears she can hear Lucy laughing too, but far away. "Can you talk for a bit?"

"Yes, of course. I just thought you'd be fed up of talking to me already." There's a plopping sound as if a door was closing. "Okay. I checked how my mom was doing."

"Is she ok?"

"Yeah, fine. The reunions are helping." She pauses. "I changed and now I'm all set and comfortable on my bed. So... shoot."

"I had a talk with Lux."

There's only silence on the other side and Rachel worries Lucy might have hanged up or.. fallen asleep.

"...what about?"

"Well... many things, in fact." She just says and when she's met with only silence, she chuckles and continues. "We ended up talking about Tasha."

There's a sigh and Rachel has to contain her laughter. She loves this teasing, but she's sure scared as hell of taking it up and been shot down.

"Did you tell her I was worried or something?"

"I didn't say anything about your talk with the social services. She just figured out that if we talked about something serious, it had to be that."

"Huh..."

"And I was wondering if you would mind me talking to Lauren too."

"No, not at all. You might have a greater chance to be granted her custody and I just want her out of there and into a safe place. Although..." She pauses and starts giggling.

"This is a safe place, Lucy." She jumps in and makes Lucy laugh harder.

"Only a crazy woman would pout to the phone." The blonde says when there's only silence in the other end. Rachel huffs and Lucy starts laughing again. After a while, she calms down. "You know I'm just teasing, right?"

"Yeah..." She just says.

"You are really wonderful, Rachel." Lucy says with finality, ending Rachel's doubts and painting a really absurd smile on her smile that she's glad nobody can see right now. "Anyway, I really hope they place her with one of us. But... are you really sure? You got yourself one teenager not so long ago, are you ready for number two?"

"Yeah, I think so. I'm pretty confident I'd be able to make it work."

"I bet there weren't any teenagers in these year's plan."

"Not at all." She huffs. "But I also wasn't expecting moving back to Lima any time soon and for now, it's working for the best." They both smile, content.

After a second in silence, Rachel yawns, and although she tries to hide it, Lucy seems to hear it.

"Hey. Why don't you go to sleep? I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Okay..." She says begrudgingly when finally she is able to close her mouth. "Goodnight.

"Night."

"Good morning, Lauren."

"Hey Rachel. It's good to see you. It's been a while." They shake hands. "Everything ok with Lux, I hope."

"Yeah, everything is perfect. Both of us have found our groove and I think she's dealing well with all the changes."

Lauren nods. "I was a little worried about that."

"Worried? You were pretty freaked out." Rachel chuckles.

"Well, I needed to talk to Lux to assess if jumping all that feelings load into her was a good idea. Turns out she is tougher than she seems."

"Yeah. She's great."

"And I think you are very much like her. A perfect match. If one of you was to fall down, the other one would carry both of you to the finish line."

"I can't deny we have a connection. It's kind of amazing, really. It was there in an instant."

Lauren smiles and guides them to her office. They sit at her desk and Lauren cuts right to the chase.

"Not that I don't appreciate your visit, but if this isn't about Lux, what is this about?"

"I'm sure you know."

"Well, I recently had a visit from a Lucy Scott, who wanted Tasha, Lux's best friends, to be in her care. And after a back check of this Lucy, turns out that she's Lux's birth mother. Am I on the right path?"

"Yeah, that's pretty much it." Rachel sits straighter on her chair. "I know Lucy's chances aren't that great for getting Tasha put under her care. We talked about it, actually. And I've come to the decision that I want to take care of her too, if the judge won't allow Lucy. You see, Tasha is such a good girl and it's such a pity that she's all alone in that girls home. Her best friend is with me all the way in Lima. I think it would be beneficial for her and also for Lux that she came to live with one of us."

Lauren grabs a file that's on her desk and starts passing pages as Rachel continues rambling.

"So you'll want to take care of yet another teenager. Most people would say you are crazy."

"I don't think it's a bad idea. Everybody will have to put in something on their part to make it work, but I'm confident we'll make it work."

Lauren nods. "Just a practical question... Tasha will need her personal space and I've been to your house already, where is she going to sleep?"

Rachel prepares herself, excited on the edge of her seat. "I've actually been thinking about getting a new house." She explains. "I don't know what I was thinking when I got this one. Maybe I thought Lima wouldn't convince me and would end up moving again back to New York in no time. But now, my perspective has really changed. I want Lima to be a long term stay and I want to look for a big house that will hold my family. A family that, of course, will hold Lux and Tasha as part of that family for as long as they want to be with me."

Lauren has left her folder forgotten and is looking at Rachel with an undecipherable look.

Rachel stops her rant and stares at her in silence. After a few seconds, she bits her lip, nervously, and continues talking.

"And... you know, in the meantime, I think I could make the garage into a really nice room for Tasha. I usually just park my car in the driveway, so it's not like I'm using it or anything."

Lauren nods silently. "Okay. I'll take everything you told me into consideration in my inform and I'll see what I can do." Lauren smiles finally and Rachel sighs in relief.

"By the way..." Rachel starts standing up. "We haven't spoken to Tasha nor Lux about this at all because we didn't want to get their hopes up."

Lauren frowns in thought. "I'm not sure it's a good idea keeping it from them. They are not like any other kids. They have been forced to mature in some aspects but they still have some childish feelings that they are unable to control." Rachel bits her lip. "It can also play in your favor. Tasha is now a certain age, so that what she wants can be taken into consideration."

"I was a little concerned about that too. I'll talk to them."

Seth and Lux walk through the cafeteria after physics class. "Any idea how are we going to manage to do this project right?"

"I don't know... We should meet up. This is going to take us hours to figure it out."

"Yeah, I guess. Where do we meet?" Seth slides his tray on the table besides Anna. "Do they lock up the school library on weekends?"

"Probably?" Lux chuckles. "Maybe we could meet at my house?"

Anna hears it. "Woah, we are going to discover what's behind school-Lux?"

Lux chuckles. "You are going to meet my guardian." She says distractedly. "Although you already know her."

"We do?" Seth and Anna share a look.

"Yeah." She nods and sees her friends leaning towards her. "I live with Rachel."

"Rachel... Mrs. Berry?" Anna gasps when Lux nods. "That's so cool!" She exclaims.

"But she's a teacher." Seth says, a lot more disgusted.

"She's not so bad." Lux shrugs.

"So are you two related or something?" Anna tries to find a similarity between both of them.

"No, not at all. Though she actually knows my birth parents and introduced me to them... It's all kind of a long story." She shuts Anna when she seems she's going to jump into an interrogation mode.

"Another time, then?" Seth asks.

"If you want..." Lux is surprised they are interested in her whole story.

"Yeah." Anna looks at Seth and they both nod. "It'd be cool."

She chuckles. "Okay. But after we've finished this project, otherwise we won't get anything done."

"Tomorrow after school?"

"Deal."

"Hello."

"Hey, it's me." Rachel says happily.

"I know. I've got caller ID and a personal ringtone just for you." Lucy chuckles.

"You gave me my own ringtone? What is it?"

"Wouldn't you like to know..." She muses. "How did things went?"

"I'll get to know sooner or later." Still on the ringtone thing.

"Let it be later, then." She teases.

"Huh." Rachel huffs. "Anyway, things went well with Tasha's social worker. She seems to think it'll be viable. But..."

"What?" Lucy snaps.

"She believes it'll be better if we prepare Lux and Tasha for the news. She thinks it'll be easier to explain to Lux before hand and that Tasha's wish to stay with one of us may bend the judge hand in our favor." She swallows. "I think it would be a good idea too."

"So we are telling them now."

"You are nervous." She doesn't ask, she just affirms.

"Yeah. I had more or less figured out how the conversation would go, but it's just... sooner than I expected."

"Are you freaking out?"

"Yeah..."

"If it makes you feel better, I can be there when you explain it to them."

Lucy pauses. "That... actually... Yeah, that would be better."

"Okay then." Rachel keeps musing. "I'm thinking we should explain it to them separately? Lux first. We should sit down and tell her."

"Okay." Lucy says quietly, otherwise she's totally silent, processing.

"Lauren is pulling strings and will meet with the judge next week to give her evaluation. We should speak with Lux as soon as possible, so she has time to process things and has her mind made up before speaking to Tasha."

"Okay..."

"So... tonight? Do you want to come over for dinner?" Rachel asks gently.

Lucy gives a quiet chuckle. "Okay."

"It will be fine. I promise."

"Thank you for saying that." Lucy finds herself with a smile, although she knows is a false sense of security. "See you tonight."

"Hey, Rach." The brunette stares at Lux. "I mean... Mrs. Berry? Could I speak with you for a minute?"

She chuckles. "I thought you didn't want anyone to know. It would make you uncool or something."

"I've kind of already told a couple of friends here."

"Seth and Anna?" Lux nods. "I've seen you eating with them at the cafeteria. They're good kids. Anna is very dedicated in my class. Seth is a really nice guy."

"O... kay? Seth and I have to do this physics project and I said he could come over tomorrow. Is that ok?"

"Yeah, of course. I would help you out, but it's been too long since I took physics and I truth is I've never been good at physics."

"That's it?"

Rachel goes back and reviews things. "Yeah?" She simply says. "It's your house too, Lux. You can have friends over. Just tell me, so I can tidy up or something or I'm not in my underwear and that's it."

"You wear pajamas." Lux points out.

"You get what I'm saying."

Lux looks at the ground and nods. It's still a strange feeling to have a place to invite friends over.

"Lucy is coming for dinner tonight. Is it ok?"

"Sure. I wear pajamas too." Rachel chuckles. "Anything in particular? Should I keep myself busy upstairs with my homework?"

She ponders. "We just need to talk to you about something. We need to know your opinion about something."

Lux worries her lip. "O... kay?"

Rachel nods and turns away. "See you later."

"Hey." Rachel smiles as she opens the door.

"Hey." A nervous Lucy says back. She enters the house and follows Rachel, though her eyes linger in the slightly open stairs to Lux's room.

"She's supposed to be doing her homework. I'm guessing she's actually talking to Bug..." Rachel keeps walking to the living room. "I like you. No, I like you. I like you more. No, I like you more." She starts, giving them different voices.

Lucy can't help but chuckle. "I don't peg Lux for one of those girls." She chuckles harder. "I can't imagine Bug like that either."

That makes Rachel full on laugh. "Oh my god. I didn't picture that part." Lucy joins her.

Suddenly, the stairs open a little bit more and a head appears upside down. "What's going on?"

Blonde hair falls and Lucy can't help but to keep laughing. Lux huffs and hides, then pushes the stairs all the way to the floor and walks down.

"Just... just a funny and totally out of character thought I had." Rachel stops laughing and asks seriously. "How's Bug doing?"

"He's fine. Just had a long shift at work."

Rachel looks at Lucy, both trying to stifle their laugh and they look back at Lux.

"You are crazy." She turns around and goes to the kitchen, snatching an olive from the salad. "So... are you telling me whatever you're going to tell me already? I'm kind of hungry."

"Why don't we sit down on the sofa?" Lux sits down as Rachel is going to do so too, but she pulls away. "Maybe it'll be better if Lucy and I sit down in front of you."

"Dramatic much?" Lucy finally intervenes.

"Hey, you are freaking out, so shut up about dramatrics." Rachel sticks out her tongue in Lucy's direction.

Lux looks at both of them, crosses her arms over her chest and looks at them with an eyebrow raised. Lucy looks at her daughter and then at Rachel. "You two spent too much time together." Lux huffs.

"Anyway, I don't think it's so big. We'd just like to know your opinion about something."

"Then just shoot it." The younger blonde sits down.

Rachel and Lucy follow. The older blonde doesn't know where to start and looks everywhere for inspiration. The brunette walks to her side and grabs Lucy's hand, trying to calm her and pulling the attention on herself.

Lux follows their linked hands as Rachel speaks. "Last weekend, when you visited Tasha?" The brunette bites her lip.

"You finally hooked up that night?" Lux blurts. "Why didn't you tell me before?"

Rachel and Lucy tense instantly and feel the other one tense too. The room fills with awkward silence. Rachel and Lucy avoid looking at each other but still keep their hands linked.

"N... no." Rachel speaks. "That's not at all what we were going to tell you..." Lucy looks wearily to the brunette. "I mean... not that she isn't..." She feels too much words coming out of her mouth and tries to filter them. "S...She's beautiful! I... or anyone... would be lucky..."

Lux chuckles. She's bad, she knows, putting them in that position, but she can't help it. They are oblivious to no end. She wonders how was it in high school for them. She's heard their relationship wasn't good at first, but why? She keeps looking at them feeling helpless and feels a pang of guilt.

"So... what was it then?"

"Remember the conversation we had later...?" Lux raises her eyebrow. They talked about Rachel and Lucy that night. "...about Tasha?"

"Oh no." Lux intervenes and Lucy sits straighter in her seat. "You can't report it. It won't do any good." She turns to the blonde. "You didn't, did you?" She turns again to Rachel. "Why did you tell her?"

"She didn't." Lucy speaks up, pulling all the attention on herself. "And I didn't either." She shakes her head and focus on her daughter's eyes. "I figured out what happened with just one look. And I do know how it looks." She adds. "I talked with her social worker, but I did not report what happened."

"You talked to Lauren?"

"Yeah. I... I asked her about chances of me becoming her guardian, so she can be safe and she can be closer to you." She swallows and she looks down before starting again. "I really only want to do it because of those two reasons. I want you to understand that." She finishes looking directly into her daughter's brown eyes.

Lux looks completely taken aback, she doesn't know how to react, how to feel.

"Lux..." Rachel commands her attention. "She's not trying to replace you or anything like that. Given the situation, I also talked with Lauren. I could easily take care of her, if you agree. She could come live with us... or she can live in a rented apartment." She ponders. "I think this way your relationship with Lucy and me wouldn't change, because things would still be essentially the same... just with Tasha around."

After her dialogue, she keeps silence and watches as Lux tries to assimilate everything. Lucy is looking at her too. The brunette knows she is dying to go on talking to her daughter by the way she bites her lip, but she follows her example and keeps quiet.

Lux doesn't really know what to do and she hates it. She hates the uncertainty of not knowing what path to follow.

Tasha is her best friend, they've been inseparable since they were about six years old. Through everything they've lived, they always could count on the other one to escape from her foster home and be there for them. So yes, of course, she is concerned about how she's living at Riverside and wishes to have her close.

On the other hand, she might seem selfish, but this is just so new. She found a family in Ohio. A family in Rachel, Lucy and Puck. Something so new and fragile that she's scared to death that it's all going to fall apart. That something weird comes up between them and she'd be rejected once again. She really feels guilty, because Tasha and Bug have been her only family since... forever.

So... what is she supposed to do in this situation? She looks between Lucy and Rachel, both awaiting some sort of acknowledgment from her part. In theory, it all sounds ideal, basically merging her two families in one. If everything could stay the same, just with Tasha around... but things change too easily.

"How about... we start with dinner?" Rachel suggests, seeing that Lux is still figuring everything out. The blondes nod almost imperceptibly and start having what is the most awkward dinner ever.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own a thing except some imagination.**

**A/N: I'm sorry for all the time it takes me in between posts. I have this in mind everyday, but have to find the time and the words. Hope you like this bit.**

**Chapter - 11**

"Hey, Lucy?" Lux catches the blonde when they are cleaning up the dinner table. "Can I talk to you?"

"Yes, of course." The older blonde leaves everything she was doing and listens to her.

Rachel notices as she is coming back from the kitchen and makes herself busy in the other room.

"I don't really think the judge would grant you Tasha's temporary custody with everything that's going on, right?" She cautiously says.

Lucy stops and looks her daughter in the eye. "They won't." Shaking her head a little.

"Then... why did you do it?"

"I don't know, I thought I could help. It would be better for her to live around here and you'd have your best friend." She shrugs. "Listen, I won't do it. That way it will be easier."

"That's not at all what I was saying." She starts.

"I know, it's my idea." Lucy gives her. "I'm not fitted to take care of a teenager, right now, and this is only getting in the way of the relationship I would like to have with you. Rachel has more chances, Tasha will be fine. So I'm dropping it."

"But..."

"Stop." Lucy steps forward and puts a hand on Lux's arm. "Would it be easier if I had never talked to Lauren in the first place?"

"I guess, but it's done..."

"And still I can take it back." She shrugs. "On Saturday, we will go to Columbus. We'll talk to Tasha, I'll explain my part and then you'll have a good day with your friend. Okay?"

Lux sighs. "Okay." Lucy finally smiles to her daughter, relieve flooding both blondes.

They start listening to a distant music. Lux turns to Rachel, who's now back in the living room with them, and then to Lucy. The older blonde chuckles.

"Go. I think we can manage this ourselves." Lux smiles and runs to her room, ceasing the music when she picks up her phone.

Rachel laughs at her excitement. "It's probably Bug, you know?"

Lucy chuckles and nods. "Again? He isn't a bad boyfriend, is he?"

"He looks very tough, but as far as I've seen he's very caring, attentive and definitely smitten." She points out.

"Good. She deserves someone like that."

The brunette bites her lip, she is way too curious. "What did you talk about? If it's not too much to ask..."

"She was clearly uncomfortable with the possibility I could take care of Tasha. She didn't say it, I just knew. So I told her I will back off. The judge will only have to consider you." She finishes.

"That wasn't an easy conversation... It is good you two are communicating." Rachel smiles.

The blonde smiles back. "Yeah." They finish in the living room and both of them go back to the kitchen. Lucy looks at her watch.

"Don't worry if you have to go." Rachel reads Lucy's impatience. "I can finish up here."

"I should spend some time with my mother."

"How is she doing?" The brunette asks with honest worry.

"She's doing great, actually. She has this positive attitude that might make the difference this time. She's going to some sessions and meeting new people." She turns with a smile. "I think seeing Lux has changed her." She nods. "She wants to know everything about her and as soon as she feels herself again, she wants to build a relationship with her too."

"That's great." Rachel says, truly happy.

"Yeah." The glint in her hazel eyes tells Rachel she is very happy too. "Anyway, I have to go spend some time with her. I've kind of neglected her, you know? And I promised Lux I would go with you Saturday and explain to Tasha." She stops to think. "I guess if you don't want to, you don't have to come."

"Oh, but what would I do all alone here?" The brunette fakes a pout.

Lucy laughs. "Okay, so see you on Saturday?"

"Yes. See you."

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Berry." Seth says politely as he gets in the car the next day. He rests his backpack on the floor of the car and sighs in relieve. Lux gets in the front seat.

"Hello, Seth. That looks heavy."

"Yeah, Mrs. B, I took some books from the library to help us do our project."

"That's good." She nods. "By the way, you don't have to call me Mrs. Berry out of school. Call me Rachel."

He stays quiet a little, while Rachel starts up the car, suspicious that anyone around the school has seen him. "That's ok, Mrs. B"

Rachel chuckles, looks at Lux, who raises her eyebrows, looks back ahead and drives on.

"I think it's better if we stay in the living room. This table is bigger than my desk, we can have all the books around here. What do you think?"

"Whatever you say." He shrugs. "It's your house."

Lux thinks for a sec, then she shrugs and drops her bag besides a chair. Seth follows suit.

"Rach, can we borrow your laptop?"

"Yes, of course." She disappears into her bedroom and Lux follows her.

"I feel like we are pushing you out of your own home." She whispers.

Rachel chuckles. "Except now is your home too and you aren't pushing me out." She shakes her head.

"Cool, because I think Anna may be dropping by later."

Rachel chuckles. "It's alright, it's nice to see you are making friends at your new school." She looks around, gives the laptop to Lux and turns to her wardrobe, picking a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. "I'm going to change into something more comfortable and I'm going to the store. Do you want me to pick up something?"

"No, I don't think so."

Rachel walks past Lux and back into the living room, where Seth is looking for something in a book.

"Hey, Seth. Do you want some snacks or something? I'm hitting the store."

The boy looks up. "Hmm, it's okay, Mrs. B."

"I don't suppose you are vegan?"

"No, but really, Mrs. B,..."

"Okay!" She disappears again into her bedroom where's still Lux.

"Just know you can hang out with them here. I'm getting some snacks that are not vegan and maybe a couple frozen pizzas or something, just in case. If you wanted, you could invite them to stay over for a while: watch a movie, I would recommend anything from Barbra Streisand, but my collection does not limit to that genre, and have some pizza."

"Sure..."

"If that were the case, remind them to call home to say they are having dinner here and I would drive them later."

"Rachel, I don't want to..."

"I'm the one offering to do so, if you want them over. Also, I've got plenty of papers to grade, so I'll be in my room with the TV on the background."

After her speech, the brunette raises her eyebrow, expecting more come backs, but there's only a teenager with a shy smile in her lips in front of her. She puts her hand on the blonde hair and messes it up. Lux sighs at first but then laughs along with Rachel.

"Hello, Rachel." Lucy answers her phone after hearing the brunette's ringtone.

"Hello, Lucy. How are you?"

"Fine. Just watching some TV with my mother." She hears a faint voice behind the blonde's. "She says Hi."

"Hi right back." There's a mumble and she guess Lucy is transmitting her message.

"So, how are you?" Lucy continues.

"I'm actually kind of bored. I've been banned from the living room because I've been deemed uncool by three teenagers."

Lucy just laughs for a while and Rachel huffs on the other side. "I just suggested they watch a classic movie like Funny Girl. They gave me awkward looks and I just went into my bedroom to grade papers."

The blonde chuckles again. "What's that about?"

"Lux and her science partner, Seth, had to make an project, so they met here. Their other friend Anna was going to join them later, so I kind of encouraged her to invite them for dinner and a movie."

"Serves you right, then. You've got an age. Despite your height you should know you can't pass as a teenager anymore."

Rachel huffs. "I don't know at what I should be more offended. I'll let you know I'm with the average height for women in the country and, also, you are older than I am."

Lucy chuckles. It's kind of fun to banter with the brunette. "Right, just a couple of months. But I'm not the one trying to hang out with the teens."

"I was just suggesting they chose a classic film. I almost had Anna convinced."

"That poor Anna surely fears you'll make her fail. Face it, those Barbra movies weren't cool even when we were kids. I watched them then, I should know."

Rachel gasps and asks full of incredulity. "You actually listened to me?"

"Well, you wouldn't shut up about them, I had to know what the fuss was about your idol."

"And did you like them?"

"Yes, but..."

"Ha! I knew it." She exclaims and Lucy knows there's no point of going on with the argument, so she just laughs.

They talk for a little while more, bantering back and forth, laughing, until Rachel is properly entertained and they agree to meet the next day for Colombus.

"Well, well. I don't think I have seen you smile and laugh like that in a long time." Judy comments. She hasn't seen her so giddy in the few weeks she's been back with her. In fact, she's pretty sure last time she saw her daughter so truly amused and carefree was when she was a little kid. Her heart aches.

"Can you believe I treated her like hell in high school?" She chuckles. "I can't believe she forgave me for everything. Apart from all that's going on with Lux, it's been pretty good to reconnect with her."

"You seem happier." Judy starts again and her daughter examines her closely. "Last time I saw you, in your phone calls... you seemed so numb. But now, you seem finally awake. That Rachel has done you so good. Not only giving you the opportunity to know your daughter." She nods. "And I'm happy for you." She smiles.

"And I'm really happy you are getting better."

"Probably celebrating that pretty soon you can go back to New York."

"Why? You just said it, I'm happy here. You're not kicking me out just yet, are you?"

"Of course not." She puts her arms around her daughter. It's awkward, they are clearly not used to this. "I thank God everyday for you."

The next morning, Lucy arrives in her own car and insists on using it to go to Colombus. The road trip is passed with Rachel and Lux singing to the radio.

"I didn't know you sang like that." Lucy just says to Lux, looking at her in the rearview mirror, when a song ends. The little blonde shrugs and a little color appears on her cheeks.

"Well, I might have to say it's in her genes. Her parents have plenty of talent."

Lucy huffs. "It's all Puck's then. I barely kept up in Glee club."

"Please, your voice was amazing in the few songs Mr. Shue let you have the solo and shine." Lucy huffs again and rolls her eyes still staring into the road ahead. "Don't roll your eyes. We won Sectionals with your duet with Sam."

"Really? What did you sing?" Lux asks from the back seat. Now, because of the sudden interest of her daughter, the color goes to her own cheeks.

"That was because of Santana's song and the dance Brittany and Mike prepared. That was amazing." The blonde shrugs.

"They did 'The time of my life' from Dirty Dancing." She says looking at back to answer Lux's question. "And they were great."

"Cool." Lucy smiles at her daughter in the rearview mirror and Lux smiles at her back.

"Hey, blondie!" Tasha calls out. Lux has just stepped out of the car and is closing the door when she hears her best friend and before she can turn back she feels one arm around her and the other messing with her hair.

Lux only laughs. "Hey, how've you been?" She asks when she lets her go.

"Same." The brunette shrugs. "You?"

"Same." Lux shrugs too.

Tasha looks around, noticing Lucy and Rachel. "You've brought the whole troop, huh?"

"Yeah." She smiles. "Actually, they are here because they want to talk to you."

"Hey, hey, if Lux is suddenly into weird-kinky stuff, it's not my fault. This relationship is too long distance for that." She mocks.

Lucy chuckles. "Let's go have something for lunch and we'll discuss your long distance relationship, okay?"

"Sounds good." She says.

"Tash? Where is Bug?" The blonde asks her friend as they follow Rachel and Lucy into the restaurant.

"He's running a little late in the store. His boss in giving him a hard time. Said we best go ahead and have lunch and he'll catch up later." Lux pouts, putting out her inferior lip exaggeratedly, and Tasha pushes her ahead with a smile.

After they order, the brunette has had enough. "So, what's up?"

Rachel chuckles. It's the same move Lux pulled out. The little blonde, by the way, is currently biting her lip, waiting to see her friend's reaction.

"I went to see your social worker after we had lunch last time." Lucy goes ahead.

"You what?!" Tasha is about to jump, but she looks to Lux.

"It's not that. She didn't say anything." She manages to somehow calm down.

"I wanted the judge to grant me temporary custody of you. Same as Lux with Rachel."

Tasha is silent for a moment. She looks at Lux a little bit worried and then back at Lucy. "Wanted?"

"Yeah. I..." She puts emphasis in the I. "...decided it would be best to back down because of everything that's happened in my family. My mother is sobering up and I just found Lux. So I thought it would be for the best."

Tasha nods. She understands it, though she can't help feeling a little disappointed, but shrugs like it doesn't matter. "That's all?"

"No." Rachel finally intervenes. Tasha thinks it's the first time she's spoken to her today. "I applied too, just in case Lucy wasn't granted it. And this week the judge will evalue my proposal, ask for your opinion and take it all into consideration."

Tasha looks at Lux and the blonde gives her a smile.

"So I would have to move to Lima?"

"If the judge approves, yeah. I was thinking of maybe buying a bigger house, but in the meantime, we could make the garage like you own room. How does that sound?"

Tasha looks around and sighs. "That sounds better than going back to the girl's home, actually."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter - 12**

They are almost finished when Lux's phone chimes. She discretely looks at it but can't hide her smile.

"Oh, God. The lovesick puppy smile." Tasha groans, but Lux doesn't care in the slightest. In fact, her smile grows wider and sillier as she closes her eyes and faces Tasha. The brunette chuckles as she throws a little piece of bread at her, sticking her tongue out when Lux opens her eyes and looks at her shocked.

"So... is it Bug?" Rachel speaks from the other side, effectively stopping a possible food fight.

"Yes. He said he's finally off work." Lux puts her phone down and takes her fork, but she doesn't actually pick up anything.

"If you are finished you can go find him. We don't need babysitter." Lucy suggests.

Lux smiles, shakes her head and stands up. "Are you finished, Tash?"

The brunette makes herself busy, shoving a forkful of pasta into her mouth and shaking her head. When she swallows, she says. "No, not yet. But go ahead. It's not like I haven't seen Bug lately around here. And besides, I know where to find you guys."

Lucy and Rachel share a look. Lux waits for the confirmation that everything is okay and seems somewhat satisfied when Tasha nods her head. "Okay, see you in a bit." She says in general and skips the restaurant.

They keep eating for a while in awkward silence.

"Okay, I'm stopping. I can't have anymore, I'm so full." Tasha pushes her plate. Lucy and Rachel share another look, with a knowing little smile. "So what is this all about? Details, please."

"I knew as soon as I saw you last week things weren't good at the girls home, so I had to do something." Lucy pushes forward her plate too. "But it was all a bit hasty. I didn't consider how everything would work."

"For instance, Lux's feelings in the matter?"

"Exactly." Lucy concedes. "When I stopped and thought about it, I realized I couldn't do it. She didn't even say a thing, but I knew it would only make it harder for us. And, anyway, you had a greater chance with Rachel." She shrugs.

"Yeah, how that came to be?" She turns now to Rachel.

"When Lucy told me what she was trying to do, she didn't tell me why. So I asked Lux and she told me. She may have assumed Lucy told me and actually she ended up giving me the full story." Tasha huffs a laugh. "Anyway, I went to your social worker knowing that right now I'm in a better position than Lucy."

Tasha furrows her eyebrows. "I just want to make one thing clear: I don't want your pity."

"Good. I don't pity you." Rachel says quickly. "You are kind of a survivor, I admire you. And I know it's complicated, but I'm offering this because I like you and I want you to have an easier life, if possible."

"But you don't even know me and you don't look like you need my Estate's check."

"I really didn't know Lux, either, but I went with my gut and so far, so good." She shrugs. "Just think about it."

"Okay, I'll think about it."

"Hey, handsome." Bug hears. He smiles as he finally sees Lux and the blonde starts running a little bit, jumping and hanging herself from his neck.

"Hey, gorgeous." He chuckles and kisses her lips slowly. "How are you doing?" He kisses her nose and they start walking holding hands.

"I'm good. How are you? Why is your boss working you so hard?" She says a little concern.

He shrugs. "I don't know. I guess business isn't going to well. He fired some guy from the morning's shift, now he wants the rest of us to fill in for the same money."

"It sucks." Lux mumbles.

They end up in a nice park and find a bench. Bug seats first and then Lux seats by his side, her back on his chest, putting her legs over the rest of the bench.

He chuckles. "Are you comfortable?"

She takes his arms and puts them around her. "I believe I am now." They keep silence for a couple of minutes, just enjoying the way they're cuddling in the bench.

After a while, Lux clears her throat and starts speaking gently. "Tasha may be moving to Lima, too."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Rachel wants temporary custody of her, too. The judge will consider this week."

"Wow, that's fast." Bug comments.

"Yeah, apparently they've been talking about it since last week when Lucy saw Tasha's bruise." Bug awaits, he knows there's something he's missing. "My m-, Lucy went first. She applied for Tasha's temporary custody first. When Rachel found out, she did too. But Lucy went first."

"What did you think of that? And she isn't applying anymore?" His concern shows in his voice.

"I... I feel like shit. It hurts either way. I was trying to make sense of all of it and she said she'll back out. And what if the judge doesn't grant Rachel temporary custody and Tasha doesn't have another option."

"Screw it." The brunette finds them in the bench and stops the conversation. She stands right by the bench and takes her friend's hand. She pulls her up and guides her away.

Bug stands up and waits for Lucy and Rachel to come around. "Hello." He smiles a little.

"Hi, Bug. What's going on?" Rachel asks. Lucy looks concern in the way the girls disappeared between the trees.

"They need to talk. They'll be back in a sec." He assures them.

Tasha keeps pulling Lux by her hand until they are out of sight and nobody can hear them back in the bench. Then, she finally drops the blonde's hand and they face each other.

"I wouldn't have gone and live with Lucy even if the judge had put me in her custody. That is messed up. I wouldn't do it and I wouldn't make you go through that even if you said it was ok. It would feel like a betrayal." She says quickly. "So stop feeling guilty, it's... stupid!" She exclaims.

"I'm sorry." Lux looks down to the floor.

Tasha steps forward and hugs her best friend. "You are a lucky bitch. You got yourself a pretty amazing famous guardian. And you found your mother, and she actually wants you, to build a relationship with you."

Lux remembers what happened with Tasha's mother. After she was clean, she built herself a new family and never turned back for Tasha. She was able to say to Tasha's face that she didn't want anything to do with her.

Lux squeezes the brunette tighter in their embrace. "She did it all for you." The brunette continues. "She was trying to do good, taking care of me in Lima so that we will be near. She didn't see it would hurt you more than make you happy. When she saw it, she backed out." Tasha plays with her friends hair.

Lux relaxes. They have always been able to count on the other one. And there have been hard times. But also really good times too. This is why her friendship is so special.

After a while, Lux speaks. "Are you going to tell the judge you want to live with Rachel?"

"I don't know. Is it ok with you?" Tasha steps back so she can look into Lux's face.

She considers it, because otherwise there's no way Tasha will believe her. "Yeah, it is. Rachel's been a great friend, too. And I think we could all get along well."

"Then, yes." She simply says and starts walking back to the bench.

"Don't you have to consider anything?" Lux asks, following.

"There's nothing left." She shrugs. "Gavin is out of the picture and you are my only real family."

Lux smiles. Lucy, Rachel and Bug are back in sight. They are discussing something animatedly and Bug is shoving something into his jeans pocket.

"It will be nice having you there and in the same school. By the way, I've made some friends over there."

"Were you replacing me already?" She fakes an accusation that makes Lux laugh.

"I think you'll like them."

Lucy is the first to notice that they are back. "Everything's ok?"

"Yeah, it's fine." They agree.

"Well... I don't know what you guys want to do, but Rachel and I are going to the cinema. If you want to come along, my treat! But... that means I choose the movie and I think the new Paranormal Activity is on."

"Hey, you didn't say anything about you choosing the movie." Rachel protests in vain.

Tasha looks at her friends and both of them shrugs. "We're in." She informs.

Indeed, Paranormal Activity who-know's-what-number-now is playing in the cinema and so Lucy insists on buying tickets for the five of them. Rachel insists later on buying snacks and drinks for everyone and discussing with the employee the non-existent vegan options they have.

Halfway through the movie, Lux is halfway on Bug's lap and Tasha is trying to stifle her laugh when in the most tense scene she throws pop corn to the blonde and she squeaks. The brunette notices that at her other side, Rachel isn't fairing much better. She's watching the movie through the spaces between her fingers.

Tasha awaits for another tense moment, points and throws pop corn to the other brunette. She squeaks just the same and bumps into Lucy's side. Rachel suddenly becomes aware that she's against the blonde and looks up only to find hazel eyes.

"Hey." She whispers. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah..." She whispers back, but Lux squeaks again and like a reflex, she's back into Lucy's side.

The blonde chuckles and scoots over. She puts her arm around Rachel and she visibly relaxes.

"I'm sorry I made you watch this." She continues whispering. "Next time you can choose the movie and... in the meantime, I'll protect you."

Rachel hides her face into Lucy's neck and tries that the blonde doesn't feel the smile that's taken over her face. When she pulls back, there's only a tiny smile left and she whispers back before hiding again. "Deal."

It feels really good, the blonde notices. Even in cinema watching this kind of movie, she feels safe and the warmth of Rachel's body. Lucy can help but smelling the brunette's hair, so close to her nose. She definitely uses some kind of vanilla shampoo. Suddenly, she sees a piece of pop corn flying in front of her eyes. The blonde follows the direction in which the projectile came and finds Tasha overly amused.

"You're welcome." She mouths, before chuckling and focusing back on the screen.

Lucy stares at her for a while with an eyebrow raised. When someone screams, Rachel trembles and pushes into her shoulder and the blonde doesn't give a damn about the rest of the movie. She keeps being distracted with the warmth of the brunette, her breath on her neck and the almost there lips.

Lux hates the part when she has to say goodbye, even if it's only for a week. She kisses Bug, first. Then, she clings into Tasha.

"I really hope you come to live with us." She says into the hug.

"I do too." She pats the blonde's back gently. "See you soon."

"Well, that was nice." Rachel says when they are almost home. Lucy checks the rearview mirror, Lux fast asleep in the back, and she laughs silently. "What?" Rachel turns so she can look directly at Lucy.

"You two spent the whole movie hiding." Lucy says, looking back again towards Lux. "Even when it was over and the lights had been switched on you kept hidden."

"I didn't know. I didn't want to be driven into a false sense of security just to be scared when I looked up." She simply says. "You could have told me. Or maybe you just liked where I was hiding." She smirks, teasingly.

"Maybe I did." Lucy keeps on with the teasing and that definitely isn't what Rachel was expecting if the look on her face is anything to go by.

It's one of those times when you can't find an ingenuous comeback in the moment and later on, when it's too late, you come up with the perfect one. That must have been, because Rachel just looks at the blonde quizzically, but doesn't continue.

Lux sits up properly in the back and looks through the window. "Are we almost ho-... in Lima?" She brings a hand to her eyes.

Rachel looks at Lucy and finds the blonde giving her a side glance too. The brunette smiles at Lux's slip up.

"Yeah." Lucy says, looking at the teenager through the rearview mirror. "Just five more minutes."

Rachel turns herself around to face Lux with a nice smile on her face and comes up with a smirk from the teenager, surely not that asleep during their last conversation. The brunette huffs indignantly and sticks out her tongue to Lux.

The teenage blonde chuckles. "Very mature."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter - 13**

On Thursday, Rachel finds herself again in Columbus' main family court. Considering the turn the situation took last time she was here, she isn't really sure if everything will go as planned. Judge Frey, a black man in his forties, looks over Tasha's file.

"Natasha Thomas, sixteen. It says here that a little over a month ago you applied for emancipation and it was denied."

"Yes, sir." Tasha says, standing in front row besides her social worker.

The Judge turns now towards her. "Mrs. Hart, you called this hearing because Mrs. Berry..." He looks up from the file and finds Rachel in the almost empty court. "...wants temporary custody of Natasha." Rachel nods maintaining the eye contact with the Judge.

"That's right, your honor." Lauren answers.

"I have read the report you wrote about Mrs. Berry and all the documents regarding her suitability for taking care of Natasha." He says with a sense of finality. "While I believe the economic situation is good for this matter, I need to say I have a few concerns about her personal situation." Rachel bites her inferior lip, suddenly nervous and scared that this won't go as they wanted to.

"Mrs. Berry and myself are here today to clear any concerns you might have, your honor." Lauren intervenes.

"That's good." Judge Frey smiles towards Rachel, easing a little bit her fears. He reopens the file and starts reading. "It says here that a few months back, Mrs. Berry lived in New York. And she still owns an apartment there. How long are you planning on staying in Lima for, Mrs. Berry?"

This time the question is really directed to her. Rachel stands up from her seat. "Lima is really my new home, your honor. I haven't had the opportunity to sell the apartment in New York, because the right offer hasn't been made yet. But I assure you, sir, that Lima is where I plan to stay and build a family."

He writes something down. "Build a family, I see... Are you single, Mrs. Berry?"

"I am, your honor." Rachel says.

"And how do Natasha and - Elizabeth, the girl who you already have under your care - fit into this objective?"

"I'd wish that after spending some time with me, they would like to take some part in that family, sir." She honestly says. He stares at the brunette for a couple of minutes, measuring her.

"Okay." The Judge says. "Mrs. Berry, I'll have to ask you now to exit the court for a moment."

Lauren turns around and nods at Rachel. She nods herself and exits the court as indicated.

"Mrs. Hart, in your professional opinion, how has been Elizabeth's progression under Mrs. Berry's custody?"

"During the time I've spent with her and the conversations we've had, I can say that she's already fully adapted, has found a good dynamic and I dare to say, your honor, has established a great relationship with Mrs. Berry, almost as good as the one she built with the foster family she stayed the longest, for about two whole years."

"Impressive." He is back again taking notes. "Do you believe she could take care of yet another teenage girl?"

"I believe she could, your honor."

He turns now back to the forgotten teenager. "Natasha, what do you think of all this? It isn't exactly emancipation. How do you feel about been under Mrs. Berry's care?"

"Given that emancipation is not an option right now, I think living with Rachel would be great."

"How's your relationship with Mrs. Berry and Elizabeth?"

"As I'm sure you know from that big report, your honor, Lux and I are good friends. We met when we were just kids and she has become like a sister to me. Rachel has understood that relationship and although they live in Lima and I live here, she has made her best to not break that relationship. I respect her, a lot, and I would like to be under her temporary custody, Sir."

"Do you think Mrs. Berry's is the best home the State can give you at the moment? What about the girls home or another foster care family?"

Tasha shakes her head. "I already know Rachel and I like her. I don't think there's a better foster home for me out there."

Judge Frey reviews quickly his notes and flips through some documents on the table. He sighs.

"Mrs. Hart, I assume you will be checking the actual living situation periodically to make sure it fits the requirements according to the Law of the State of Ohio." He closes his file.

"I will, your honor."

"Good. If there's any problem at all, I'll be hearing from you." Lauren nods and the Judge nods. He turns to face Natasha. "You are under Mrs. Berry's temporary custody. Good luck."

"Yes!" She says quietly. She notices the Judge looking at her. "I mean... thank you, your honor."

They wait until the Judge has disappeared into his chambers and they exit the court. In the corridor, there is a very agitated Rachel Berry walking back and forth. She notices them as soon as they open the door.

"I'm not sure I did good. What did he say?" She speaks worriedly.

Tasha looks at Lauren and it's finally the second one who answers. "You did great, Rachel. She granted you her temporary custody."

Rachel looks at Tasha and sees her smiling. The older brunette smiles too and brings her arms around the girl. "Now you're stuck with me too." She smirks as she steps backwards.

Tasha huffs a laugh. "Please. I'll survive."

Lauren enjoys seen them happy. Actually, seen these teenagers happy is kind of rare, so she treasures this moments as a prove that her job is well done.

When they finally separate, she speaks. "If you come with me back to my office, we can finalize the paperwork. Then you can gather your stuff from Riverside and be on your way to Lima. Okay?"

"Cool."

When Rachel gets home later that day, she finds Lux almost tripping from her stairs in a rush to meet the brunette.

"What the hell, Rachel?" She exclaims.

"Hello to you too, Lux."

"Don't act like that! Do you even check your phone anymore?" Lux continues. "I've been nervous all day at school, because I wasn't allowed to come along."

"There was nothing for you to do, you only would have missed a day at school." She explains.

The blonde pauses. "Ok, I understand." She concedes. "But the freaking phone! I almost begged Lucy to give me a ride to Colombus."

Rachel reaches for it and finds 43 new whatsapp messages and five missed calls.

"Wow."

"Yeah. You can ignore them now. The last thirty or so are just annoyed icons. So..." She stands in front of Rachel. "What the hell happened?!"

She doesn't answer. Rachel turns around and opens the door.

"You're going to help me or what?!" She hears Tasha yell.

Lux sighs and a smile threatens to break her face. She feels her sight getting a little blurry and she shakes her head. She steps forward and first, she hugs Rachel. That startles her, but she responds after a beat.

"Thank you SO much for everything." She whispers into the brunette's hair.

Rachel figures it is finally downing on her that Tasha is really going to live with them. "It's nothing." She chuckles.

"No." She finally steps back and cleans the tears off her face with the back of her hand. "It's everything." She gives her a watery smile. Maybe she's not only referring to Tasha now.

Lux runs outside and gives Tasha a hand, lifting one big bag while the brunette carries a little one and her guitar on her back.

"I didn't know she played guitar." Rachel comments as they pass by her.

"She's really good." Lux says. "She found that guitar and fixed it herself, then learned to play."

"Oh, wow." Rachel loses herself in thought, so they pass by and start going up the stairs to Lux room. "And how do you carry a tune?" She speaks up, so they can hear her from upstairs.

Lux chuckles. "We are a couple of members sort in Glee club to participate in Sectionals this year." She informs Tasha.

"And she wants me to sing?" The brunette drops her things on the floor.

"Apparently. Sing a little bit and dance." Lux lies in the bed, watching the ceiling. Tasha follows her. "We meet for an hour every Tuesday and Thursday after class."

"I'll think about it." The brunette groans. "And tomorrow we have to go to school already?"

"Yes." Lux just answers, a smile growing in her face. She turns to her side and looks at Tasha. "But we are together again."

Tasha suddenly turns to her side and starts tickling Lux sides. "I'm definitely here." She says while Lux laughs her ass off and Tasha can't help but do too.

Downstairs, Rachel gets changed and goes to fix something for the three of them. She hears the girls laughing and smiles. As she passes by her phone, she picks it up and checks Lux's messages and finds that one of the phone call isn't from her.

"Hey, Rachel." She hears at the other end, a little out of breath.

"Hey, Lucy. I just saw your missed call. Are you busy? You sound a little weird."

"No. I was just making some dinner for my mother and me." She says. "It's silly, but it turns out I left my phone upstairs and I had to run a bit to get to it on time."

Rachel laughs. "You could just have called me back."

"That was another option, yeah." Lucy laughs a little embarrassed. She clears her throat. "How did all go?"

"The Judge made me a little nervous. This Judge was very throughout, not quite impulsive as the one at Lux's hearing was." She shakes her head and ends the little suspense. "But, anyway, she's upstairs with Lux. They are going over everything for her first day at McKinley."

The blonde sighs. "I'm so glad." Lucy finally says and Rachel can hear her smile. "And Tasha starts tomorrow at McKinley?"

"Yeah. I've got pull in the school. The perks of being a teacher and knowing the principal." Lucy chuckles. "And anyway, the sooner she starts there, the better, so she can adapt to this school."

"I guess you are right." She pauses.

"What's wrong?" Rachel, as perceptive as ever when it comes to Lucy Quinn Fabray, can hear in her voice that something is not right. By now, Lucy should have known better and she laughs quietly despite herself.

"I don't know." She shakes her head, trying to clear her mind. "Her life is finally coming pretty well together. She has a good home, an awesome guardian, her best friend, a caring boyfriend..."

"Oh, no." Rachel mutes. "Don't you freak out on me now." The brunette orders. Lucy is silent. "That's pretty much what my mother did when I met her and I promised I wouldn't let you do the same. So listen up. You are going to find something in common with your daughter and bond over it. And keep going at it, build a relationship with her and be there. You do have a place in her life, Lucy. That place has reserved for you her whole life. But filling it is not easy. It needs work to get over what little of her resentment and your guilt is still there. And believe me, I don't know which will be worst. But you can get over it and you are surrounded by people who will help."

There is only silence in the other end and Rachel worries. "Are you still there?"

"Yes." Lucy sighs and says slowly. "Thank you, Rachel. Really, thanks. I don't think I can really express how much I appreciate you."

"Good morning, guys." Lux finds Seth and Anna talking by their row of lockers.

"Hey, Lux. How did it go?" The previous day, she has been a complete nervous mess and she had finally told Anna a little of what was going on.

The blonde smiles. "Pretty good. Actually..." Tasha appears behind Lux, very curious. "Anna, Seth... this is Tasha, my best friend. Tasha, these are my friends here, Anna and Seth."

There's some commotion in the hallway and they are pressed to the wall to watch some Cheerios and football players pass by.

Lux discovers Seth following the cheerios with his eyes, until they have turned down the hallway.

"Oh, you like the cheerios. That's typical." She laughs.

"I don't... I... I don't like the cheerios, it's just..." He defends himself.

"I get it. They're pretty and they're popular. What's not to like?" Lux shrugs.

He shakes his head and tries to explain. "I used to hang out with Sofia when we were kids and she wasn't that popular. She's not a bitch, like she seems to..."

"Aw..." Lux starts to understand and sees Seth cuter than ever. "You've liked ever since? That's so cute!"

"Yeah, whatever." He really doesn't like to be called cute. "He doesn't seem to see me anymore."

Meanwhile, in the other side of their little group...

"And who the hell are they?" Tasha asks.

"McKinley's royalty, of course." Anna explains with disdain. "The football team and the cheerios rule the school."

"Of course." Tasha answers. They finally walk off and they can keep on with their conversation.

"Mm, I assumed... You don't want to be on the cheerios, do you?" Anna asks.

"Oh, no. It's not my style at all." Tasha rearranges her bag in her shoulder and looks thoroughly at Anna's appearance. "Neither is yours, I'm guessing."

The girl with chestnut short hair falling messily from her hat can actually feel her cheeks turn a little chrisom. She clears her throat and shakes her head a little. "No. I like other things better. Literature and music." She leans towards Tasha and whispers. "Plus, Coach Sylvester is crazy."

Tasha laughs. "So I've heard." Anna leans back with a little smile playing on her lips. "So you like music? Are you in Glee club?"

"No, not really." She shakes her head. "I can't sing, but I help when I can playing the piano."

"Oh, cool. I play the guitar."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Rachel wants me to join Glee club, though. Just to do background and dance a little, so I can meet new people, she says, and the club can qualify to participate in Sectionals. I was thinking of at least checking it out before saying no."

"It's really fun." She shrugs. "Maybe you shouldn't say no."

"And why don't you join?" The suggestion falls from her lips before she is able to stop it, but her surprised expression makes her not want to take it back.

Anna shrugs. "I can't sing that well."

"But we will just be doing backgrounds, dancing and having fun." Tasha shakes her head and examines Anna's stance. Maybe she hasn't joined because she's shy or nobody asked her to. And what she's asking isn't that outrageous. "Let's do one thing. I'll try Glee club if you give it a try too."

"What?!"

The bell rings and Tasha gets her timetable out from her pocket. "What do you have now?" She actually knows that they are mostly in the same classes, Lux wanted to introduce them so she would know someone there already, but acting like this seems funnier.

"I... um... I've got French, now." She doubts.

"Magnifique! Moi aussi." She stands by Anna, expecting her to lead the way. "Á bientôt."

Anna starts walking towards their class while still watching Tasha by her side. She is taking in everything that's new around her and so is Anna, because she feels like a freaking tornado just entered her life.

"A bienwhat? What did she just say?" Seth asks Lux as he follows her to their first class.

Lux laughs. "They are headed to French class. She said 'see you soon'."

"Aha, cool." He worries. "Lux, listen... about what we've talked about..."

"Don't worry. I won't tell a soul."

He smiles, relieved. "Thanks."

_**A/N: I'm hoping you like how I'm developing the characters. I really appreciate your input via reviews. **_

_**Anyway, you'll have noticed I have been updating this story quicker... hope things go well, don't want to jinx it**_


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter - 14**

"Natasha, could I talk to you for a sec?" Mrs. Berry asks when she dismisses her class. Tasha was animatedly talking with Anna and the girl tells her she'll wait for her and show her to the cafeteria.

"What's up?" She approaches Rachel.

"I'm thinking about going today shopping for your room and arrange the garage during this weekend. Next week Lauren will do the home inspection and I really want everything to be perfect."

"Oh, okay." Tasha shrugs.

"Tell Lux the plans, okay?" She shrugs. "She can help you choose."

Tasha shakes her head. "I don't need much, Rachel."

Rachel sighs. "Temporary custody could mean a couple of months or years, when you are old enough and decide you want to leave me behind. So I prefer if you could choose some furniture you really like." Tasha's mouth contorts into some silly smile that she's quick to hide. "Also, you might have to meet my parents this weekend at some point. I hope it isn't a problem?"

"It's fine, I guess." Tasha shrugs.

Rachel smiles. "And now, typical questions on your first day: How are things going?"

"Fine. Lux introduced me to Anna and she's being a great help. I'm going to need to copy her notes and catch up."

Rachel nods. "That's good. How do you like people here?"

"I've only really met Anna and Seth. They seem cool and Lux generally doesn't have bad taste in people." Tasha looks at herself and smirks.

Rachel chuckles. "Okay, okay. I'm going to repeat myself and tell you that I'm here for whatever you need." Tasha nods and hangs her bag from her shoulder. "So I guess I'll see you later in Glee club?"

Tasha walks to the door. "I'm only giving it a try, ok? I don't promise anything."

"Fair enough." Rachel concedes.

Tasha is about to open the door when she adds."And Anna may be trying too."

"Seriously? I asked her and she told me she couldn't sing." She says with a huff. "Well, it doesn't surprise me that much. She plays piano, she should know her notes."

"Yeah. And I guess I'm more persuasive than you." Tasha says with a chuckle. "I think she's just shy, but she has an advantage with the piano and she looks graceful enough... you need two students more to qualify for sectionals, don't you?" She shrugs.

Rachel smiles. "That's right." Tasha smiles too and finally exits the class.

The brunette makes her way towards the teacher's lounge. Some teachers are already seated around a table, discussing what they are going to do on the weekend and stuff of the sort. She gets her lunch from the little refrigerator, waves at them but sits by herself, getting her phone out of her pocket.

"Hey, Rachel." A sweet voice answers. The way it pronounces her name, makes a shiver run down her spine.

"Hello, Lucy. How are you?"

"I'm fine. Reading something I really think it's worth publishing." She hums, satisfied. "How are you?"

"I'm just having lunch in the teacher's lounge."

Lucy stays quiet for a couple of seconds and then speaks in almost a whisper. "I've always wondered what was inside there."

Rachel chuckles. "Well, it isn't much. It's just a place with a crappy coffee machine where we can have lunch away from the kids." She looks around, wondering if there's anything else that's worth describing. There is not.

"Boo. That's not fun. I had better theories than that."

Rachel laughs. "What theories?"

"Oh, I don't know." She shakes her head. "It's silly. I imagined a low light, a round table and Sue Sylvester cleaning the teachers out of their paychecks in a round of poker with a cigar in her mouth and an evil laugh."

Rachel starts laughing loudly. The teachers in the other table look at her weirdly and she has to put a hand over her mouth to keep herself silent. After a while, she cleans a couple of tears that have escaped from her eyes while laughing and sighs. "That's quite a picture."

"I guess." Lucy chuckles. "So were you calling me for something or you just enjoy the sound of my voice?"

Rachel huffs. "While your voice is indeed very pretty, I was wondering if you would like to come shopping today for Tasha's room. And maybe I could enlist your help in getting the garage prep for her."

"Sure, but..." The blonde pauses. "I thought you were going to look for a bigger place."

"I am. But Tasha needs her room right now. The home inspection is next week and while I think Lauren will understand, it needs to be somewhat ready." She explains.

"Hello, guys. How are all of you today?" Rachel enters the choir room, a binder in hand. "As you might have already noticed, we have two new members of the group: Tasha and Anna. I hope you make them feel welcome." She keeps pointing at them and the whole team turns around and examine them. It feels rather awkward.

Nothings says anything, though, so she goes on. "Anyway, I thought today we could do a little jam sessions, so you can get to know each other as a group and have fun." The group seems to like her decision. "Also..." She continues, catching again their attention. "Since there are finally enough members, I'll be signing New Directions to the competition."

"Wooho!" A guy in a letterman jacket shouts, then turns around and high fives the tiny guy on his side.

"Mrs. Berry?" Sofia interrupts.

"Yes, Sofia?" Rachel is intrigued by what the cheerio might have to say. The girls in the cheerios and the guys in the football team joined freely to the club. She has kept an eye always open just in case it was one of Sue's tricks, but so far, they have acted normally and even been nice to the other guys in the club. Also, some of them are truly talented.

"I was wondering if we could change the name of the club before entering competition."

Rachel frowns. "What's wrong with New Directions?"

Sofia huffs and starts listing. "First, it's ancient. Didn't you win Nationals with that name when you were in school? How long ago was it? Forty years?"

"Actually, only fifteen. I'm not that old..." She says a little bit offended, but the latina continues with her number two.

"It's weird when you say it out loud. Neeeeew Diirections. Nuuuude Erections." She makes a face. "I don't want to compete in a club that goes by Nude Erections." Rachel scrunches her face in disgust. This time she has to agree.

"Also, One Direction." She adds, as if it was self explanatory.

Rachel thinks about it. Really thinks about it. And maybe Sofia is right. Maybe a new name will inspire them.

"Ok. Fine." She nods. "But we need to come up with a name soon, so we can sign up for the competition."

"We could be The Superheroes!" One of the football team members suggest.

An goth guy says in the front row. "That sounds kinda lame." There are some voices that agree with him.

"Maybe something that says we are a 'glee' club...?"

"Hello, girls." Lucy awaits by her car in the McKinley parking lot near the football pitch. "How was the day?"

"Fine." Lux says happily.

"Cool." Tasha shrugs.

"I hope it is fine that I invited Lucy to come along today."

"Sure." The teenagers say simultaneously, one more enthusiastically than the other.

Rachel smiles to the blonde pleased and Lucy returns her a tiny smile.

"Q! You're getting fatter, you better start doing splits again. And do you think that would be hard, I'm still doing them! That's hard!"

Her eyes open in shock and she feels scared for a couple of seconds. Tasha looks at her friend, surprised, but Lux is also stunned.

Lucy tracks the voice down and sees the woman standing over the football pitch. " Sylvester! I look damn fine! And you're still standing!" She shouts back. She turns back to Rachel and sees her kind of checking her out, so she smirks.

"Anyway..." She clears her throat. "Where are we going?"

"First... home depot?" Rachel looks at Tasha and she shrugs. "We need to buy some paint. There's plenty of work to do in that garage. But I think we girls are going to make a good job."

They have spent most of the afternoon buying paint and furniture for Tasha's room and now they are back in their house, putting the boxes Rachel has in her garage towards the center of the room and getting the selves down, so they can start painting the walls.

"What are you going to do with all of this stuff?" Tasha takes a box from its neat place in one of the selves.

"I guess I'll sort it out and most of it will finally go in the trash."

"You sure?" Tasha opens the box and looks into it. She picks up what turns out to be a yearbook. "Hey. Look at this." She sits down right there in the floor and flips it open.

Lux arrives with another box and stands next to her friend, looking over her shoulder. She looks inside the box Tasha had opened and finds several colorful posters and pictures, some stuffed animal and a some other books.

Tasha chuckles when she finds what she was looking for. Lux focus back on what her friend is doing. It's incredible to see a much younger Rachel looking back at her from a picture in the yearbook wearing a mega star smile and argyle. Tasha turns the page over quickly and they find the same brunette looking at them from another two pictures with two different, though similar outfits.

"You were in every freaking club or what?" Tasha looks up and asks the older Rachel.

The brunette huffs and Lucy answers for her with a laugh. "Almost."

"But... Speech Club, The Mock United Nations Club, Renaissance Club, Muslim Students Club, Black Student Union..."

"Well, one of my dads is black. And since we don't actually know who's my biological one, I consider myself of black descendant."

"Honey, genetically you don't have a black molecule in your body and you know it. You are all your dad's daughter."

"Still, I felt very related to the African-American people and I joined." She says proudly. "Also, extracurricular activities were as important for me as my grades." She finishes.

Tasha keeps flipping the pages until she finds the Glee club picture. Lux watches over her shoulder and finally gets down on her knees to watch that picture carefully.

Lucy enters back into the garage with a few water bottles and finds only Rachel doing something of use. She looks at Tasha and Lux and grows curious about what they are watching. She stands by their side and peeks down the yearbook. "Oh, that was our sophomore year." Lux and Tasha look up from their position and Lucy gives them each a water bottle.

Rachel is finally drawn to the group and the blonde gives her water. "That year we weren't going to have a group photo. There wasn't enough space for us. But somehow Mrs. Sylvester changed her mind and gave us one of her pages."

Lucy bites her lip and avoids looking up. She remembers she put on a Cheerios uniform and walked to Sylvester's office, claiming one of their pages for Glee club. She's not sure why she did it then, but it had to be something about the sad look on Rachel's face.

Rachel is not stupid and she does really hang on Lucy's reaction. "I thought then maybe Lucy had something to do with it and I guess it was right." She says, bumping her hip lightly against Lucy and bringing her from memory lane. The blonde just smiles under the attention of the whole group.

Lux can't stop staring at the familiar blonde in the picture. "You were pregnant there."

"Yes. I almost eight months pregnant." She gently says. "And you really stopped to get our picture taken. You really liked the music and each time we were in the choir room you would move a lot." She finishes, her words evidently full with love.

"Yeah, you liked music so much, you decided to come out during our Regionals competition."

Tasha laughs. "Seriously?"

"Yeah. I guess I was really excited and I didn't notice you were moving a lot, like too much. And when we got backstage, I saw Judy standing there after four months... next I know, my water had broke." She shrugs.

"You like to make an entrance..." Tasha comments.

"They had to rush with her to the hospital. Everybody wanted to go along and they thought that because we didn't really have a relationship, I wouldn't want to go, so they left me there so the club could qualify."

"Really?" Lucy says truly surprised. "I also thought it was you who decided to stay there."

"What? I wanted to be there for you. Our relationship wasn't more than an agreement not to tear each other off, but I really cared." Rachel gives her a sad smile.

"I'm sorry." Lucy says in a whisper.

"It's nothing. Plus, I got to see this one before they took her away." She messes Lux's hair a little bit.

"When?!" Again, Lucy is surprised.

"I got there after visiting hours. I was really frustrated. I had to be over there the whole time only to lose." She huffs. "I caught Santana and Brittany trying to sneak in. I distracted a nurse, while they opened the door and we sneaked in together." Lucy is completely quiet, following each word on her story. "We visited you first. You looked exhausted. We pushed your hair back from your face and covered you up with the blanket." She also kissed her forehead, she remembers. "And we went to see baby Fabray."

She looks down at the other blonde and continues. "She was in a pink bundle. So chubby and perfect, with her little fists up in the air." Lucy feels her heart aching, but tries to push it away by looking at her daughter now and listening to the rest of the story. Rachel clears her throat. "She was looking around, like she didn't know where she was and was analyzing everything. Brittany started making faces when she looked at us and, even though I know it isn't possible, I swear she was laughing along. Santana tried to make funny faces too." She explains. "But it didn't go too well. She started crying." Lucy snorts. "I couldn't move from that glass panel, so when she started crying Santana had to push me away so the nurse wouldn't see us."

"I didn't know. They never told me."

Rachel shrugs. "I guess Santana felt like you punished her." Lucy looks at her quizzically. "She kind of left you when you were pregnant and you asked Mercedes to go into the delivery room with you. So, maybe she thought you didn't want her to see your child." Lucy's head falls. "Truth is: we were all really invested in you and your baby and even if we couldn't fathom the hurt you and Noah felt when you gave her away, we felt the loss too. More so, after seen her." She smiles towards Lux. "You disappeared over the summer and you came back as a cheerio again... I didn't know how to approach you."

Rachel and Lucy keep talking. Tasha listening to them. And Lux... she takes the yearbook from her friend and examines every detail in the photo. Rachel, front and center, with her big smile. Lucy, her mother, and her baby bump. Puck with his Mohawk. Santana and Britanny holding their pinkies together. Even Finn, with his dopey smile. She was loved. She is loved...

"Well, you certainly kept trying. I'm glad." Lucy looks directly to Rachel's brown eyes.

"Hey, there are other yearbooks here. Let's look at them." Tasha whispers to Lux, but the sound is enough to bring Lucy and Rachel out of their spell.

Lux closes the one she still got and keeps it on her lap, to keep watching it later. She takes one of the remaining yearbooks and Tasha another one. She passes through the pages looking for familiar faces. Because of the date, she figures it must be from their senior year at McKinley. She notices that Rachel is absent from some of the clubs, but she is in the picture from the West Side Story musical.

The next picture makes her stop dead.

"Lucy?" She says gently.

"Yeah?" The blonde peeks from over her daughter's shoulder. "Oh." She just says.

"Yeah." She swallows. "Why were you in a wheel chair?"

"I had a car accident." Lucy looks briefly at Rachel. "I was going to Rachel's wedding with Finn and I didn't see a truck coming." Lux looks up to her, worried even if it happened years ago. "I crashed the wedding." She chuckles at her own joke. "I damaged my spine and hadn't the use of my legs for several months."

"But you are okay now?" She wants to be sure.

She leans an puts a hand on her shoulder. " I'm good now." She says.

Lux puts her hand over Lucy's hand. "Good."

"You kind of went through a lot during high school, huh?" Tasha comments.

Lucy has to chuckle. "You have no idea."

"And why the hell did you want to marry so young? And who the hell is Finn?" Tasha questions

"Girls, are you hungry? I'm ordering in. Do you want pizza? " Rachel suggests.

"Sure." Tasha says, flipping through the pages.

Rachel turns towards Lucy and asks. "Extra bacon?"

"Yes, please." She answers with a happy smile. When she looks back to Lux, she takes in her scrunched face in disgust. "Don't look at me like that. It is a craving you gave me that I have never been able to overcome."

"I say it was the deprivation you suffered while you lived with Noah's very Jew family." Lucy laughs and nods. "His mother wouldn't buy pork even just for her." Rachel explains the girls.

Rachel disappears into the house to phone the pizza place. Lucy keeps staring at their senior year Glee club photo.

"That year we won Nationals." She says happily. "By the way, how did Glee club went?"

"It wasn't that bad..." Tasha shrugs.

Lucy smiles and looks at Lux, who is smiling too. "Admit it, you had fun."

"I admit that when those cheerios and jocks leave their act behind, it is almost a cool club."

"Yeah, yeah..." Lux says. "Today we had a little jam session. I guess it was Rachel's idea for the group to bond. We had fun."

Lucy smiles. "I remind those sessions back when I was in the club. It really was awesome. Even Rachel, who was always thinking about the competitions, laid up a little bit and had a good time."

"Well, someone had to think about the competitions. Mr. Shue's mind was always somewhere else. We never had a set list prepared with enough time." She puts her hand on her hips. "I was the captain of the team, I had to think about it."

The blonde throws her hands to the air. "Okay, okay... I was just saying it was fun for everybody."

"That's right." She stands right in front of Tasha. "So... any chance you and Anna will be staying in Glee?" Rachel pouts: her inferior lip coming out and doing a little tremble, her eyes almost in tears.

"No?" Tasha says. Rachel's lip seems to get weaker and trembles even more and she swears there's a tear falling from her eye. "Yes." She says. Rachel drops the act and beams. "I was just checking out her reaction and it figures she wouldn't stop pouting until I said yes." Tasha looks at the blondes and they just laugh.

"My pout warms frozen hearts." Rachel informs them, dignified. Lucy huffs. "I convinced you to come back to Glee at least twice with this pout." She brings her index finger to her trembling lip.

Lucy can't lie. She shrugs. Lux and Tasha have to laugh their asses off.

They are finally done getting everything off the walls and the next step is painting.

"Put on some clothes you don't mind getting dirty, girls." Lux and Tasha disappear into the house and up Lux's bedroom. Rachel looks at Lucy. "Come. I'll lend you something to wear."

"Oh, it's not necessary."

Rachel gives her a look and turns around. Lucy has to follow her. She's met by a pair of trousers and a t-shirt on the bed. Rachel's already in the bathroom. "Alright..." She simply says.

When the brunette exits, she's wearing something similar to the clothes Lucy has on and her hair is in a ponytail. They go back to the garage, but Tasha and Lux are not back yet.

"Hey, what happened to the pizza?" Lucy asks.

Rachel looks at her watch. "I think it'll be here any minute. I asked for the delivery man too, you know?"

"Huh..."

They start opening the cans of metallic grey paint and finally the bell rings.

"Lux! Tasha! Come down already and get the pizza! The money is in the table!" Rachel screams

"Okay!" They answer and it's followed by the noise of two teenagers coming down the stairs.

Rachel smiles. "Three... two... one..." There is silence and Lucy smiles too in anticipation.

"Bug!"

A/N: Hello, did you like this last chapter? I have plenty of ideas for the future of this story, just have to figure out how and in which order put them in. Also, do you have any suggestion for the new name of New Directions? I have a couple names, but they seem kinda lame. Anyway, hope you liked it. See you soon.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: A little update in between tons of papers and exams. My professors have gone crazy. Classes end now and finals are just after Christmas break. I hope you like this. Don't worry, I won't try to write anymore poems. I'll try to write another chapter in my study breaks.**

**Chapter - 15**

Lux is hanging from Bug's neck and he's barely managing to keep the pizzas from falling to the floor. Tasha has already overcome her surprise, partly because of Lux screaming, partly because of the laughter from the other room, and she's eyeing Bug, who's wearing a matching cap and t-shirt from the pizza place.

She chuckles and takes the pizzas from Bug, leaving them alone and going back to the two adults.

"Nice one." She announces. Rachel looks at Lucy and she winks. The brunette blushes a little bit, clears her throat and tries to cover it up.

"Tell them to come inside. I asked Finn to send him at the end of his shift, so he could stay." Rachel says almost distractedly while she keeps on applying paint to the walls.

Tasha turns around and shouts into the house. "Hey, when you two are done kissing, come inside. We still have to paint the whole room."

The teenager turns back around, set the pizzas on the floor and opens them. Then grabs a piece in one hand and the brush in the other and starts painting the walls. After a while, Lux and Bug do come inside.

"Does anyone care to tell me what happened?" Lux asks.

Rachel and Lucy look at each other and then to Bug, who shrugs. "I live in Lima now." Lux looks at her boyfriend with a look that tells him she doesn't understand why. "Isn't that easier?"

She nods. "It is but..."

"There really wasn't anything tying me up to Colombus. I got a better job here, one that doesn't kill me up. Also, Mr. Hud-, er... Finn saw my bike and asked me if I was interested in mechanical stuff... he told me I could help him out in the mornings in the auto shop and he'll teach me a couple of things." Lux smiles, it's obviously something that makes him happy and she hasn't seen much of it back in Colombus.

Lux looks from her boyfriend to Rachel. The brunette shakes her head lightly and leans her head in Lucy's way. The blonde is fiddling with her brush, but she feels the eyes on her and stares back at Lux, who is trying to transmit all the appreciation she's feeling in her smile. Lucy returns her smile shyly, content that her daughter is happy.

Bug sees the interaction between both of them. When Lucy turns away and their eye contact breaks, he leans down to Lux's ear. "There's no reason to rush this. A couple of months, a couple of years... You just worry about them now..." He looks at Lucy and Rachel. "We'll be here."

Lux kisses Bug neck. "I love you." She states with a contented sigh.

"I love you too." He whispers, returning the caress. "That's why you keep me around."

"Oh, booo." Tasha claims from the other side of the room, pointing at them with her drenched brush.

"Hey. How are you doing?" Lux is getting ready to go to bed. They ended up pretty late and tired, all covered in paint because someone -she can't remember who started it- wanted to play.

After all, Tasha made it first to the shower and by now she is asleep. Lux has just made it out of the bathroom in her pajamas when Rachel goes to talk to her.

"I'm good." She smiles, reassuringly.

"I hope you didn't mind I invited Lucy to come along."

"No, not at all." She shakes her head. "I... It's..." Rachel awaits to hear what's going on in her mind. "It's just weird." She shrugs. "I want to know about her, I want to get to know her, but still I... it's like I can't interact with her normally. I don't even know how we are supposed to interact."

"Start simple. Build a friendship, find something in common." Rachel chuckles. "You'd be surprised how you two are alike. I've had this same conversation with her too." She shakes her head. "Maybe you just need to find a common ground."

"Maybe." Lux shrugs.

"How do you feel about reading?" Rachel asks.

"I don't know." She shrugs, a little confused. "I have read whatever I had within reach all the way through foster care. It was a way to pass time."

"Yeah?" Rachel walks to the living room and fishes a book from a drawer. "Take this." She extends her a book, a copy from Lucy's book. She is surprised Rachel even has one and the brunette seems to read it in her face. "I ordered a few days ago. Read it. Maybe it'll help you both."

She tentatively takes the book. She feels like it is a piece of Lucy's soul what's been handed to her. She opens the book and sets on the first page. There in the first line is her name, a dedication:

_-Elizabeth_

_Do you miss me_

_half my heart?_

_Can I ask you_

_we mend it back? _

Lux tries to understand it. She's never read much poetry, but she has to give it a chance.

"Are you sure? Do you want to finish reading it first?"

"It's okay. I've already read most of it anyway. It's yours." Rachel says. Of course, she's finished the whole thing up. She couldn't stop reading once she started and it was a really amazing lecture. She knew Lucy wasn't shallow even when she tried to look like it in high school, but the brunette was rendered amazed by her words. "I may get another and make her sign it for me."

The blonde ignores the last part, while she's focused reading. "Do you think... Do you think you can help me understand it?" Lux asks her literature teacher, showing her the first page.

"I would say... she wonders if you miss her as much as she misses you, like a piece of her is missing. And she wonders if you would like to meet her and finally feel like you are a whole again." Rachel says, looking the poem she's read before. Lux stays silent.

"Maybe you would like better the author to explain it to you..." She says with a smile.

"Honey, what is this? Are you going to like adopt every homeless child you don't even know in the States?" Hiram Berry says as he opens the door to the Berry household. A fake look of concern on his face.

"I told her not to." Tasha speaks in her defense and Hiram has to bite his lip to stop himself from laughing.

"Don't listen to him..." Rachel tells Tasha. "Hi, Dad. Nice to see you too." She steps inside and kisses his cheek. She turns around and introduces the brunette. "This is Tasha. And I did know her, that's why I wanted to be her guardian. Tasha, this is my father, Hiram Berry. Now, try to win him over."

The brunette gives a nervous look to her best friend, but composes herself, takes a step forward and offers her hand. "Nice to meet you, Sir." The man gives her a look and clears his throat. "I mean... Hiram?"

He shakes her hand with a smile in his lips now. "Good one." She lets her go and gives the blonde a little hug. "How are you doing, Lux?"

"Great, actually." She smiles sincerely. "And how are you two?"

"We could be better, but let's settle in fine." He says quietly.

They follow him inside towards the living room, where Tasha meets Leroy, sitting in one of the armchairs with a blanket in his lap.

"I've been advised against calling you Mr. Berry, so... it's really nice to meet you, Leroy." She says genuinely, also shaking hands with the man.

He chuckles, pleased. "It's nice to meet you too. We've heard so many things about you. We feel like we already know you."

Tasha looks back at Hiram and he laughs. "Good things I hope..." She says to Leroy

"Good, indeed."

"Hey, Rachel." Lucy waves her hand from a table in the Lima Bean. The brunette waves right back.

"Hey, how are you doing?" After a while, Rachel comes by with her choice of coffee and sits around the small table.

"Fine. Just wanted to hang out."

Rachel finds herself fiddling with the top of her coffee. "You know, Lucy? You don't have to hang out with me because I'm living with Lux." She shrugs, daring to look up for a second and looking back down to the coffee. "I mean, you can have a relationship with your daughter, you don't necessarily have to have a friendship with me."

"You don't want to be friends?" Lucy asks puzzled and a little heartbroken.

Rachel shakes her head quickly, implying that's not what she was saying. "I'm just saying that you don't have to force a friendship with me just to be closer to her."

Now, Lucy is heartbroken. She leans over the small table and grabs her hand, making her look up to her. "I'm not going to lie... I was minding my own business, happy to be around without anyone from my past knowing I was here. I was a little scared of their reactions after so long." Lucy allows her mind to wonder to that Skype conversation with Santana. Rachel thinks about that too and chuckles. "But I knew the moment you bumped into me that that plan was going happily out of the window. Even before you dropped the news on me."

She considers a few seconds and shrugs, without leaving the brunette's hand. "I didn't realized until then how much I was missing that loud, tiny brunette from high school. And I wasn't prepared for how much I would like her mature self and appreciate her when I got to know her."

"So, no." She shakes her head. "I don't want to be your friend because you are the link to my daughter. I want it because I really like the woman I've rediscovered and I appreciate you even more because you put yourself in that position. I'll be your friend as long as you want me to be."

Rachel moves her hand, turns it upside down and squeezes hard the blonde's hand. Lucy smiles to herself, takes a sip from her tea and without dropping the handhold, continues speaking.

"So... how was your day?"

Rachel shakes her head and tries to forget the heavy conversation they had just had. "Fine, I guess." She sighs. Lucy raises her eyebrows and looks at her asking a silent question, while caressing the hand in hers with her index finger. "I swear the kids are getting dumber each year. I don't know what it is... maybe those 3D videogames or something like that. Aside for a couple students that keep up, the rest is almost disastrous."

"I wouldn't have the patience to try and interest a group of teenagers who prefer to be anywhere else. I admire you just for that."

"I liked literature in high school. It wasn't anything like math or physics, where you had to really understand it and come up with the right solution. But it doesn't matter. They hate it."

"I used to like it too. I would take note of every book the teacher said and check it out in my free time."

"You were a secret dork." Rachel chuckles.

"And you weren't secretive at all." Lucy sticks out her tongue, mocking the brunette. Rachel laughs along the blonde.

"Hey, did I tell you I got your book?" Rachel tells her with a smile still in her lips.

"No, you didn't." She gets serious all of a sudden.

"I ordered it and I've been reading a little... Lux may read it too." Lucy enquires with the raise of her eyebrow. "It is very profound, well written and full of emotions. Also, I feel like I got to know you a little better from reading it. So... I've liked it very much so far."

The brunette furrows her brows and Lucy waits for her to continue. "In general, your poems are sad. Beautiful, but pretty sad." She searches the hazel eyes in front of her for that sadness.

"I turned to writing while I went through a kind of... dark time." Lucy explains and actually looks down to her cup.

"What... what kind of a dark time?" Rachel worries.

Lucy looks around the Lima Bean... too crowded. "Let's walk?" She suggests. Rachel nods and soon they are out of the coffee shop and walking through a nearby park.

"You don't have to tell me, Lucy." The brunette starts again.

"I kind of want to." The blonde takes a sip from her coffee, slowly. "I was pretty unhappy in high school, Rachel." The brunette bites her lip. "I hadn't really stop to think about everything until I got pregnant. Until then, I was pretty fine with pretending to be happy and fooling myself." She swallows. "Doing what was expected from me. Being a bitch just for the sake of it." She shoots Rachel a regretful look. It doesn't justify anything, she knows. The brunette shakes her head, willing her to let go of her guilt.

"Then I was kicked out of my house. My father set the alarm and gave me thirty minutes to pack what I could." Finn had shared that story with Rachel long ago, but still was hard to process the helpless situation the pregnant girl was put on.

"I went from one couch to another, alienated. After that, I had to give up Lux, the only thing that I had left, because I couldn't take care of her." Rachel can't help feeling guilty. She offered her help, but their relationship was too awkward and she end up living with Mercedes.

"My mother asked me to come back. I was hopeful things were finally looking up. But everything had changed so much. I had changed too much. My mother tried to make it up to me. But she had her issues." Lucy shakes her head. "We tried to keep appearances. I went back to the old Quinn, she found a job and tried to sustain us. And at the end of the day, we locked ourselves alone in our bedrooms. She drank her pain away."

Rachel follows the story, figuring out what was behind the blonde's actions in high school. Going on a ride of emotions that had her near tears. If only she had known... Rachel reaches for Lucy's hand and squeezes it. The blonde gives her a sad smile and continues her tale.

"I ended up that year alone over again. No Sam, no Puck, no Finn. Santana and Brittany had each other. I lost it. I dyed my hair pink, I started to drink and smoke..." Lucy shakes her head. "Nothing good came out of it, but looking back, I guess it was my way to draw attention. But it was useless. The only one who kept coming back for me were Brittany, Santana and you."

"I was concerned." She shrugs.

"I know. That kind of felt good. Although I couldn't understand it. We had never been friends or anything." She shakes her head. "I came back when my supposed new friends, the Skanks, blew me off too. For some time, I was only driven by the thought that if I worked hard enough, I could get into a good school and get away. When I had the accident, I wondered if I was just supposed to surrender and admit that God wanted me to stay here and live an unhappy life but He would want his children to be happy... I'm not really sure how I did it other than you and Kurt jumping around screaming: NYADA! NYADA! NYADA!"

Rachel laughs a little. "But you did. You got into Yale." This time, Lucy is the one to squeeze Rachel's hand as she falls quiet, trying to get the rest out.

"Yeah. And I was there all happy I had made it out on my own, working my ass off in my classes and at work, until one day, a couple of friends asked me to attend a college party with them and I ended up making out with a girl." She waits.

"I guess that's normal. College is a time when you experiment." She clears her throat, as she blushes a little. "I, myself, had a couple of sapphic experiences in college. Although I've always had a pretty good idea that I was indeed bisexual."

After a couple of seconds, Lucy closes her mouth and swallows. "Well, yeah. But that turned my world upside down again. After that, I couldn't ignore it, I found myself noticing little things in... women, and with everything I had gone through in Lima, I had a crisis when I realized I was gay. I thought there was something really wrong with me. The pregnancy, the accident... and then that. Why would He put me through all of that? I feared my new friends' and my mother's reaction. They would leave me out again. My roommate would kick me out, repulsed by me. I spent a couple of months afraid to do or say something that would tell everyone what I was. I had started to write long ago and in that moment I turned to my very secret kept notebook to express my feelings."

Rachel nods her head. "How did you get over your crisis?"

Lucy chuckles at the memory. "Fortunately enough, New Haven is not Lima. I came one day into my room and found my roommate in bed with a very naked woman. She even asked me to join." That gains a chuckle from Rachel. "I was completely shocked and left the building. I ended up sleeping in a friend's floor. She was very persistent, kind of like you, and made me talk it all out. I told her about my roommate and she started opening my eyes saying that love is love no matter who is it between and that God loves all of us." She feels Rachel squeeze her hand and smiles. "It took me a while to come out, but when I did, I wasn't as alone as I feared. "

"I'm really glad, Lucy."

The blonde huffs. "I feel like I unloaded everything on you." She shakes her head. "I'm sorry, Rachel."

"You don't have anything to feel sorry about." Rachel says bewildered. "For once, I asked for it. And getting to know things about you is like my favorite pastime."

"Knowing I was an emotional mess?"

Rachel thinks about it. "Sure." Lucy chuckles. "I like to know where this mature you comes from."

"After that progression I was able to look back at my life in Lima and make sense of many of the things I did, why I was so bitchy, and how it was pointless to hide and be like that again." The blonde comments, more to herself, but when she sees the curiosity grow in Rachel's eyes, she adds. "Let's leave that for another day?"

The brunette chuckles. "Okay." The blonde sighs. "Feel better, though?"

"Actually, yes. It's different to tell someone who knew me then." She nods.

Rachel throws the rest of her coffee to the bin and turns to Lucy. "May I hug you?"

Lucy laughs at the question, but nods her head and opens her arms to the brunette. Rachel takes a step forward and hugs her. She puts her head in the crook of Lucy's neck and the blonde leans her head to the top of the brunette's, sighing silently.

"You were always very polite with your affections, huh?" She comments.

Rachel gives her a final squeeze and a kiss to her cheek as she is disentangling herself from the blonde. Lucy blushes and keeps silent.

"I find that people react differently to my shows of affection. When it's not expected, I tend to inform them of my intentions so they can refuse if they wish to."

Lucy chuckles at the rationalize explanation Rachel has about everything. "Just so you know... you don't need to hear my permission, I won't react badly."

"That's good to know..."

"This is good." Tasha looks around her. They are riding in Anna's car, going to the mall just to hang out, eat something and maybe go to the cinema. "I don't have to deal with these two love birds alone."

She looks at Anna and she chuckles. Tasha turns to look in the backseat.

"Yeah... good..." Seth nods his head, looking through the window while he keeps his distance with the couple by his side. "Not awkward at all." The brunette laughs. She was the first to get in the car and so she commandeered the front sit.

"I resent that." Lux intervenes. "We are not one of those sick couples." Tasha looks pointedly at her friend. Bug has her arm around Lux shoulders and the blonde is resting against him. "Are we?"

"You are not... but still there are times I felt like the third wheel. That's why I started seeing Gavin." Anna looks momentarily at Tasha and back at the road.

"That's your boyfriend?" She asks.

"Was." Lux informs them. "A pretty pass time, it seems."

"Yeah. He bailed on me the first time things went wrong." She tells Anna.

"Oh." She says. "Sorry."

Tasha shrugs. "I wasn't in love with him or anything."

Lux looks at her best friend and her new friend and smiles. She turns to Bug and there's a smile too in his lips. He wiggles his eyebrows and Lux laughs. They silently decide to let them be for now.

"So, Seth." Bug starts. The other boy feels... a lot of respect for the guy with the neck tattoo. "Do you have a girlfriend?"

"No." Seth says and looks at Lux. He's pretty sure Lux has told her boyfriend.

Tasha turns again from the front seat to look at them. "Oh please, he wears the puppy look every time that cheerio walks by."

"Sofia." Anna chuckles from behind the steering wheel.

Lux shrugs. "I didn't need to tell them. They already knew."

"Ugh." Seth screams, embarrassed. He closes his eyes and rests his forehead in the window.

"We are going to the mall. We will change your appearance a little bit and we'll help you try to get her." Lux suggests.

But Seth makes another sound. "...shopping..."

"I feel you, man..." Bug says.


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or Life Unexpected.**

**A/N: Hello there. I know I said this was going up during Christmas holidays, but some things have come up that have kept me away from the computer. Here it is the new chapter, though. I hope you like the direction this is taking.**

**Chapter - 16**

Rachel finally gets home after her afternoon and part of her evening with Lucy. The brunette finds herself in her bedroom immediately and she lets herself fall onto the bed and sighs.

"You had a nice time?" Rachel looks towards her door and finds the two teenager's heads on each side, munching on some chips and looking at her interested.

"Yeah..." Tasha and Lux share a look and keep eating.

"What did you do in your date?" Tasha asks.

Rachel raises her head from the bed to look at them. "It wasn't a date." The teens don't look impressed. "We had a coffee and walked through the park. We just talked."

"Isn't that lovely." The blonde says. Tasha looks at Lux and the blonde just chuckles.

"It could've been a date. You could have risked it and gone for it." Tasha ponders.

Rachel lets her head fall back and sighs again. She pats her sides and the girls enter her room and imitate her position.

"You two are pretty insistent. Why?" Rachel asks them.

"It's painful watching you interact." Lux nods.

Rachel groans and ponders. "Isn't this weird already for you?"

Lux shrugs. "Maybe, but I'm pretty happy with it." She nods to herself.

The brunette bites her lip and changes the subject. "How was your day at the mall?"

"Great. We changed Seth's wardrobe." Lux explains.

"Why?" Rachel asks with curiosity.

"He wants to impress a popular girl and he needed a change."

The brunette scrunches her eyebrows. "I don't think changing who you are for someone is the way to go."

"It's not like that. He is still himself, we just needed to find some clothes that fitted him nicely."

"So you had fun." Rachel states.

"Yep."

"Great." The brunette sighs. "What do you say we fix ourselves something to eat and watch some TV. I don't feel like doing much more tonight."

"Yeah, fine."

They busy themselves in the kitchen, going back and forth, preparing their dinners. They take it back to the living room and flip through the channels until they find a marathon of a ridiculous TV show about pretty lame vampires they end up laughing about.

In the midst of it all, Rachel leans back on the couch and look at the situation. Tasha and Lux on each of her sides. They look happy. She is happy. She can see this as a permanent fixture in her life. She thinks back to what Tasha was saying before. Is she being a coward?

"Right, Rachel?" Lux asks.

"Huh?"

"I was saying that he's not even trying to look dead. It can't be that difficult." Rachel chuckles.

"It's more difficult than it seems. Suddenly some part of your body itches and you just need to scratch it." She nods to herself as she keeps looking to the screen. Then, she starts shaking her head. "Okay, that's just too bad." They start to laugh again.

It is finally Friday again and everybody is walking out of McKinley as fast as they can. Bug is by his bike waiting for Lux.

"Hey, Seth." He calls when he sees the guy coming out of the building. A few girls in cheerios uniform are talking at the entrance and start keeping an eye on them full of curiosity.

"Hey, Bug." He says approaching.

Bug extends his fist and Seth evaluates what to do before awkwardly bumping it. The girls had changed a little his style. He bought at their request a couple of jeans that fit him better. Also, they changed his baggy t-shirts for some slim-fit ones. Still, he chose the ones he liked (today he is wearing one with the logo from Green Lantern), but he looks better. Another day, the girls got him to cut his hair -it was getting too long and it made his head too big- and taught him how to comb it so it looked a little bit like a mess.

Bug has to recognize the girls had done a good job changing his wardrobe and making him cool, still maintaining his style. But if the girl is like they had described -more or less, a superficial bitch-, he would really need to change upside down. He isn't sure that's worth it.

The girls are blatantly talking about them now. He makes a show of looking at one of them and smirking. Then he turns to Seth, like he has just said the funniest thing ever.

"What have you planned for this weekend?" Bug asks. He can see from the corner of his eyes that two of the girls are coming towards them.

"Nothing much. You?"

"Lux wants to hang out." He says and then, in a low voice. "Now, just be cool."

There's no time left for Seth to ask.

"Hello, Seth." A gentle voice addresses him from his left side.

Seth looks to Bug bewildered and then at the girl. "S-Sofia..." He says with just a little stutter. "How are you?"

"Fine." She says gently and she turns towards the other guy. "Who's your friend?"

"Oh." He says a little disappointed. "This is Bug. Bug, this is Sofia."

"Nice to meet you." He shoots him a smile.

"Nice to meet you too." Sofia smiles back. "Tomorrow there's a party at Amanda's house. Maybe you guys would like to come? Bring some friends?"

"Of course." Seth is quick to answer, but then turns to the other guy and pleads with his eyes. Bug smiles and nods his head.

"Okay." She turns around, nods to her friends and they nod approvingly. "See you there, then." She winks and finally leaves.

"Oh my god!" Seth starts whispering. "This is the first time she's actually talked to me since we started high school."

"Congrats, man." He just says.

"Hey!" The girls arrive together and Lux kisses Bug. "How are you doing?"

"Great!" Seth announces, excited. "Sofia invited us to a party this weekend."

Tasha looks from Seth to Bug. "Seriously?" Bug shrugs.

"Well, maybe she invited Bug and I was just a consequence, but yeah." Seth continues. "I'm making my way in!"

Lux looks at Bug and they silently communicate. The conversation ends when he bites his lip and shrugs. "So we are going a Lima party..." She states and Bug nods. "When do you have to go back?"

"Half an hour?"

Lux pouts and then smiles. "It's ok. I actually have a date with Lucy."

"You do?"

"Yeah. Bonding time, I guess. We're just going to grab a cup of coffee or something alone. There's always someone around, either Rachel, Tasha... This could be good."

"Hello." Lucy hugs lightly her daughter and sets herself opposite to the young blonde at the coffee shop. "How are you doing? Do you want another drink?" She points at the halfway coffee mug on the table.

Lux drops her books, with which she was busy with before Lucy came in, into her bag. "No thanks. Any more coffee today and I won't be able to shut off tonight."

The older blonde chuckles. "How is everything?"

"Same around here. We seem to have established a new dynamic. Go to school, try to keep up..."

Lucy's brow falls. "How is that going? You came in with the year very advanced. Are you doing ok?"

"I'm doing mostly ok." She shrugs. "We have had a lot of help from Seth and Anna and some tutor sessions my physics class. I've been managing."

"I'm glad." Says Lucy after taking a sip from her cup. "If I was able to help I would, but actually, I don't have a clue about physics."

"It's ok." She chuckles.

"And how is Glee club going? Sectionals is next week."

"Actually, I'm quite glad I joined. It's fun. Even with Rachel giving us orders and repeating again and again our number for Sectionals."

"You entered the competition very late. I thought they would have turned you down and you would have had to wait until next year."

"I know. Rachel says there's a couple of high school's more in our situation and that's why they allowed it. Unfortunately, that means we have to go through it faster. She's got us preparing for Regionals too."

"Rachel is nothing if not through."

"Yeah..." She says with a smile. Then her smile falls and she worries. "How did you managed to get up on that stage and sing in front of all that people?"

"People could say it was the same with the cheerios competitions, but it was something totally new. I was very nervous at first. Then I learned how to tune it all out and think that I was performing like in our choir room, in front of my friends." She shrugs. "Rachel is a natural, she lived under the spotlight. I've learned that I don't like it that much."

Lux considers her. "Yeah. That's the reason I didn't ask Rachel." The younger blonde smiles shyly and Lucy returns it with a wide one of her own, happy that her daughter confides in her enough to ask her advice.

"So, how does it feel living in Lima? Truthfully."

Lux looks down at her mug. "I think..." She starts. "Overall, I feel loved." She ends almost in a whisper.

"Yeah?" Lux raises her head and find Lucy leaning over the table to hear her.

"Yeah." She shrugs.

"Well, you are." She states. "There's so many people who love you here. Not only your friends... You are such a great girl..." Lucy shakes her head and can't help putting her hand over Lux's. "For so long I loved the idea of my daughter, simply because you are part of myself. I've been around you now for a while and I've noticed little things that remind me of Puck and me, also things that remind me of Rachel - I'm not sure how that works - and things that are only you, part of your character. So I can say without a doubt that I love you not only because I am biologically your mother, but also because I like the person you've become."

Lux is a little stunned. She manages to set a shy smile through teary eyes.

"That also goes for Puck. Rachel cared about you long before she discovered that she had met you as a baby. You have won the Berry's hearts and my mother's. So yeah, there's many people here who love you."

Lux winces and Lucy's not sure what happened. She finally asks. "I've only met Judy once. How... Why..."

"She is very proud, Lux. You met her at rock bottom and although she's happy to meet you, she feels very bad you saw her like that." Lux nods. "I believe you are the main reason she is getting better." The younger blondes gasps. "She wants to be good the next time she sees you. She wants to build a relationship with you, believe me. She wants to know all the details every time I spend time with you."

"How is she doing?"

"She is doing great. She has been sober since she came out of the hospital. She just needs to gain confidence in herself, feel like she has her life put together again." Lux nods her head.

Lucy's phone chirps and she looks at it distractedly.

"You are going to a party tomorrow night?" Lux nods her head. "Rachel just texted me." She blushes lightly.

"We got invited and we decided to check it out at least."

"That's good." She says, sending a quick reply to Rachel.

"Does she say something else?" She asks with a smile.

"She asks if I would mind going out to dinner alone with her." Lucy bites her lip and smiles.

"And?" Lux prompts.

"Sure."

"Are you having fun?" Seth approaches Lux when she's grabbing a soda. She's been dancing with Tasha and Anna for a while, since Bug had to took off for work.

"I don't like the music... but it has a good beat to dance. So it's not so bad." She shrugs. "How are things going with Sofia?"

"I lost her track. I started talking with her, but she got distracted with a jock."

"Sorry."

"I talked to her, it's more than I expected. It's fine." He shrugs this time.

"Where is she now?"

"I don't know."

They turn around and search for her in the room full of people. After a while, Lux spots her walking towards the stairs. Walking... she seemed she couldn't even stand for herself.

"Seth! There she is." The boy looks in that direction. "It's just me or do you think there's something wrong with that picture?"

"Yeah. Let's go."

Rachel arrives at Lucy's house. She's pretty nervous. She should've come about this in a different way, but now it's too late. Although she could still ditch the single rose she bought for the blonde. When the door opens, she immediately starts talking.

"I need to clear something up." Lucy shoots her a quizzical look. "I like you, Lucy. I would like to take you on a date." She gives the rose to Lucy.

Lucy stares at her, unemotional and silent. Rachel fears the rejection and starts rambling. "Of course, you may not like me back, being gay doesn't mean you automatically like every woman. I just needed to tell you. I hope that we can still be friends. I'd hate if this would destroy our friendship."

"Rach, stop." Lucy tells her patiently, but she seems troubled. "I... this is a complicated situation, I don't know how..."

Rachel nods and starts rambling again, mostly to herself. "I understand, yes, I'm sorry. It was a bad idea, I shouldn't have listened to those two. I hope we can resume our dinner plans as friends and forget about all of these." She reaches back for the rose and drops it to the floor.

"Which two?"

"Huh? Oh... Lux and Tasha. They told me to go for it, that this would be good." She waves her hand in the air, as if it didn't matter.

"So Lux is okay with it?"

"Yeah." She tells her, although she is really anxious with this rejection now and prefers her to drop the issue already.

"She's really ok? Everything's already weird enough..." The blonde starts.

Rachel seems to catch up. "She actually encouraged me to go for it. She just doesn't want to have to pick sides."

"So that's what that was about..." The blonde says, remembering their conversation after Rachel texted her. She kneels and gets the rose from the ground. "This is really beautiful, Rach. Thanks." With her other hand, she holds Rachel's hand. She looks at herself, in a black pair of pants, high heeled boots and a pretty blouse. "Come inside and wait, please. I need to change into something more appropriate."

"You look beautiful." The brunette stops her with a smile and kisses lightly her hand. Lucy blushes, which only makes Rachel's smile widen. "So what do you say we go to the restaurant? They are waiting for us."

"You made a reservation?" Rachel guides Lucy towards the car, their hands still linked. The brunette open the passenger's door for her. "How chivalrous..."

They make their way through the people dancing. When they get to the bottom of the stairs, they can't see Sofia anywhere. Lux takes Seth's hand and drags him upstairs. "Come on."

The blonde opens the first door upstairs.

"Oops!" She exclaims, laughing. Inside a couple stops making out and looks at the intrusion. Lux looks at them briefly. She is not Sofia, so she closes the door. "Sorry!"

"Are you going to do that with every room?"

"If I have to..." She says, reaching for the next door. Lux opens it and turns to be a bathroom. The only one there is bent over the toilet. She closes the door quickly in disgust.

They walk towards the next door. "I really just want to sleep."

"No, Sofia. We are gonna have fun now. Drink a little more of this."

"But... ok..."

Lux looks at Seth. "I think we found them." The blonde turns the doorknob. "It's locked."

"Damn." He says.

He looks around the corridor and doesn't know what to do. He settles from resting his back on the wall on the other side. "Get back, Lux." The blonde takes a couple of steps out of the way, Seth kicks the door but it still resist.

"What the heck!" They hear from inside. "Get lost!"

"I can feel it almost gives in." Lux stands next to him and uses her hand on the wall to add force to her kick. Seth asks. "On the count of three?" She nods.

They count and when they kick this time the lock is broken and the door opens.

The jock, Peterson, they recognize him now, zips his pants and walks furious towards them. "What the hell do you think you are doing, loser?"

"I'm not going to let you force her."

He chuckles. "She's into it."

"Are you deaf or stupid?" Seth is also furious, seeing Sofia on the bed almost out, but with a scared look. He raises his fist and punch him for all of his worth. Peterson is taken back, but even if he's wasted himself, he recovers and punches him back in the eye.

The next punch doesn't come. Instead, Lux kicks him where it hurts the most and he lays in the floor.

Seth is instantly besides Sofia and he takes her in his arms. "Sofia, hey. It's Seth." He whispers. "It's ok now. Lux and I are going to carry you home, ok?"

"Seth?" She asks, opening slightly her eyes. "You're good, Seth."

Lux guides the way. Seth's eye is swelling, but he doesn't care. They go downstairs and only Tasha and Anna seem to notice them.

"What happened?"

"She's very drunk. Peterson tried to take advantage."

"Son of a..." Anna takes Tasha's hand and stops her from going up the stairs.

"Let's take her home." She says, without dropping Tasha's hand. She drags the brunette to her car and Lux, Seth and Sofia follow them.

Seth sits Sofia in the car and puts the seatbelt on.

"She's really out, huh?"

"She was sleepy."

"Try to wake her up a little." Seth starts talking to Sofia, but she doesn't respond. She tries to shake her. "Anna, drive us to the hospital."

"She's not going to die, right?" Lux asks in a panic.

Anna drives as fast as she can to the hospital. Meanwhile, Lux, in the backseat, tries to get a hold of Rachel.

"Come on. Pick it up, pick it up." She sighs frustrated, then searches for another number. Seth is still busy trying to get a reaction from Sofia. He talks to her, wills her to wake up, shakes her in vain. The blonde doesn't know she's crying until she tries to talk on the phone and the voice comes out strangled. "Mom?"

"Lux?" The alarm in the older blonde's voice is evident. "What happened? Why are you crying?"

"We are taking Sofia to the hospital. She's very drunk and we can't wake her up."

Lucy nods to herself, processing everything, then tries to sound calm. "You are doing fine. Take her to the ER and tell the doctors everything you know. Rachel and I'll be there as soon as possible. Don't worry, honey."


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or Life Unexpected.**

**A/N: This is a little shorter chapter, but hey... I could have left it on a cliffhanger, would you have liked that?**

**Chapter - 17**

It is a new restaurant. Lucy guesses Breadsticks it's not the only choice anymore and she really doesn't mind. This place is way better. It's a cozy place, the food is exquisite and it has plenty vegan food options for Rachel. They are having a good time, talking like they have always done but taking pleasure in the lingering touches, looks and smiles.

"Are you having fun?" Rachel asks her when she seems distracted.

Lucy nods. "Yes." She punctuates her answer intertwining their fingers gently. "I'm having a blast." The blonde smiles and it's mirrored in Rachel's face.

"I'm glad."

Lucy's phone starts chiming in her purse. She shoots an apologetic smile to Rachel, takes her hand back and tries to retrieve it. It could be important. It could be her mother. If it's one of their writes, she's definitely not picking up. She gets her phone and reads the screen.

"It's Lux." She tells Rachel. The brunette looks in the pocket of her purse, where her phone usually is, and sure enough is empty. She must have left it in the car. She notices the alarm look on Lucy's face and she inches forward.

"What happened? Why are you crying?" Rachel's mind visits in a fraction of a second every worst case scenario. "You are doing fine. Take her to the ER and tell the doctors everything you know. Rachel and I'll be there as soon as possible. Don't worry, honey."

That's all she needs to know. Rachel stands up and goes to find their waiter. She rushes her to get their check and while the brunette gets their things, the waiter returns with her credit card.

"What happened?" She finally asks on their way out of the restaurant.

"They are driving a girl named Sofia to the ER." They get quickly in the car and Rachel starts the engine immediately. "She's passed out drunk. Lux sounded really scared." She makes a pause and swallows. "And she called me mom."

Rachel turns her head to look at the blonde and make sure she's heard okay. Despite the blonde being scared, she manages to form a smile on her face. Rachel smiles too and looks back to the road ahead, though her hand makes her way to find Lucy's and squeezes it.

It's absurd, Lucy is aware of that, but it could have been Lux. She could have been the one drinking too much, she could also have gotten into a car with a drunk friend and crash. It could have been. It's stupid, but she can't help her tears.

As they finally make their way into the ER, they see the teens in the waiting room. Lucy walks fast towards them and when Lux stands up, she crushes her in a hug. The little blonde is shocked for a while, but considering how hard Lucy is hugging her and how fast she can hear her mother's heart beating, she has been pretty scared.

"Are you okay?" Lucy says into her daughter's blonde hair.

"I'm fine mom..." She says again with tears in her eyes, when she realizes how cared about she is.

Lucy has to actively try to restrain the sob that's about to escape from her. She lets her daughter free and steps back to look at her eye to eye. She finds a little smile dancing in Lux's lips and she finally mirrors it. However, she embraces her again. Lux huffs a little and looks above Lucy's shoulder, towards Rachel, who's openly crying. The brunette gives her a questioning look and Lux nods slightly.

Rachel smiles and looks her other kid. Tasha looks unharmed besides Anna, with a sad smile playing on her lips, watching her best friend. They get distracted by a nervous Seth, pacing the waiting room. Rachel dries the tears that she has not managed to keep at bay and stops him with a hand on his shoulder.

"Mrs. Berry... Rachel. Sofia is in there. Her father came in, he's a doctor, but we don't know a thing." He starts worriedly.

"What happened at the party, guys?" Rachel asks.

"We saw Sofia going up the stairs with Peterson. She seemed pretty drunk, she couldn't keep herself up. We followed them to make sure she was ok and we found him trying to take advantage of Sofia. She was very sleepy..." He shakes his head and raises his hand to mess his hair, but Rachel stops his hand. The brunette silently asks. "I punched him in the face. He got me too. And then Lux kicked him in the balls."

Lucy looks at her daughter with her eyebrows raised and the teen looks down.

"We got her out of there, but she didn't wake up... and now we are here, waiting to see if they tell us something."

Tasha is looking at the ground of the waiting room. She's never liked hospitals. It was at the hospital where her first social worker got her and took her to Riverside. Anna hesitates, but finally puts her arm over her shoulders and leans.

"Are you okay?" She says quietly, the conversation just between both of them while Rachel, Lucy, Seth and Lux are straightening up the facts of the night.

"Yeah." She shakes her head. "Just bad memories."

"Do you want to talk about it? I'm a great listener." She prompts.

Tasha chuckles and then turns serious again, lost in her thoughts. She feels safe enough to share this with Anna. "I was four." She starts. "I was playing with a stuffed animal in the living room and I heard a really loud noise coming from the kitchen. I grabbed my toy and walked to the kitchen. There in the floor was my mum. I sat beside her and started touching her face, begging her to wake up. She stank of what she was drinking. Cheap whisky, every time I think about it I feel I can smell it. She didn't react. I tried shaking her shoulders and the only thing I did was mover her enough to see a patch of blood where her head was."

Anna gasps and squeezes her shoulders.

"I didn't know what to do. I ran over to the neighbors'. They didn't get on very well with us, but I didn't know what else to do. They called an ambulance and I got a ride to the hospital with them. They made me stay in a waiting room at a hospital like this for hours. I was hoping she'll be just fine and we could go home and watch TV. Instead, a social worker came over, she took me to see my mother, still unconscious and then took me away."

Anna doesn't let go, she keeps anchoring Tasha. "Was she okay?"

"Yeah." She says sadly. "I found her years later, when I was old enough. She told me she didn't want to see me again. She has turned her life around and she doesn't want me there reminding her of what she did wrong." Anna grinds her teeth, angry at the despicable woman she has never known. "I don't know why I'm telling you all of this..."

Anna closes her eyes and composes herself. "Because we are friends." She starts. She reaches with her hand to Tasha's chin and makes her look up to the picture in front of them. "And all of us are your friends and family now."

"You don't really know me." She shakes her head, stubborn.

Anna takes her chin again and makes Tasha look at her."It may have been only a couple of months, but we do know you and we love you just the way you are."

The intensity in Anna's eyes doesn't leave Tasha any other option than to nod. Then she resumes her position looking at the ground. "I still don't like hospitals."

Anna sighs. She looks forward and is surprised to see Lux looking at them. The blonde nods with a questioning look, silently asking about Tasha. Anna nods confidently and her friend smiles, reassured.

"Good evening." A man comes from the inside the hospital towards them. "I'm Doctor Joshua Gonzalez. I'm Sofia's father."

"Is she okay?" Seth asks first.

"I think she will be okay, though she came very near to an ethyl coma." He shakes his head and looks up to the ceiling. "Anyway, and you are?" He asks Rachel and Lucy.

"I'm Lux and Tasha's guardian." Rachel explains.

"And I'm Lux's biological mother." Lucy says.

"Okay. Listen, they have already told me, but I would want them to talk to the police about what happened. That..." He grinds hard his teeth. "He can't get away with this."

"I will tell them, Sir." Seth is the first to speak.

He smiles and nods. "Thank you, young man. Have you called your parents yet? It's been a while since I last saw them. Do they know you're okay?"

"Actually, not yet, Sir."

"Seth!" Rachel screams. "That's not acceptable. They must be worried sick!"

"They are expecting me late, Mrs. Berry... Rachel, but I'll call them right now. Don't worry." He steps back and starts dialing.

"Mrs. Berry? You are also Sofia's teacher?"

"Yeah, I am." She nods. "Seth and Lux are friends, so I told him to call me by my name outside of school." She shakes her head a little. "Sofia's a good kid."

"I thought so..." He touches his hair nervously.

"Teenagers make mistakes, Doctor Gonzalez." Rachel shakes her head and gives him a weak smile. "She'll never do it again. She'll learn from it."

"Thank you, Mrs. Berry." He says. "I'm going to head back in. You should go home as soon as they give the statement, it's getting late. Again, thank you for everything."

"Of course." She looks back to Seth, still on the phone. "I think Seth won't be leaving, though."

"He's had a crush on my daughter since they were three years old." He smiles wistfully. "Don't worry, I'll take care of him." Rachel nods.

When Sofia's dad disappears again, Rachel turns around. Lucy is still with Lux, she can see the teen is telling her everything. That's good. Seth is still speaking to his parents. From what she can overhear, his parents were awake and worried. She can hear the teen telling them she's with her.

"Mrs... Rachel, would you mind?" Seth begs.

"Not at all." She speaks to his parents and assures them that he is alright. She tells them about Doctor Gonzalez and given that they are old friends, they seem to be at ease.

"Thank you for everything, Rachel." The teen says. "I'm going to get some coffees for all of you." Before she can even answer, he's gone.

"...Okay." Rachel's eyes land next on Tasha, still besides Anna. She approaches and sits on the brunette's other side. "Anna, did you call your parents?"

The other teen nods and checks her phone. "Yes, but I think it's time I give them an update." She stands up and walks away making her call. Rachel puts her arm around Tasha and brings her close. "How are you doing, tough girl?" She says gently.

"I don't like hospitals." It's Tasha's only answer.

Rachel chuckles and kisses gently Tasha's head. "It's alright. We won't be here much longer. And Sofia is going to be okay." She tells her, still keeping her in her arms.

And it's true. The police is pretty soon there taking their statement. Doctor Lopez comes back to the waiting room and takes Seth inside to sleep in one of the chairs by Sofia's bed. The rest take off as soon as possible. They follow Anna home and talk with her parents, who are waiting awake. Lux and Tasha are knocked out in the back of the car by the time Rachel and Lucy come back.

Rachel drives silently to Lucy's house. She stops the car in front of her porch and the blonde gets down. She opens the back door and gives each teen a kiss on their head. When she makes her way to the other side of the car, Rachel is waiting for her. They make their way up to the front door together.

"I'm sorry our date got cut out short." She starts.

"Next time we make sure they are at a safe place before going out. Get them a baby sitter or something." She laughs at her own joke.

"I don't think they would like that very much." Rachel laughs along. "And anyway, they did a good job today." She glances affectionately back at the car.

"Yeah, you are right." Lucy imitates.

"So... you said next time?" The brunette bites her lip, nervously.

Lucy blushes, but doesn't step back. Quite on the contrary, she takes one step forward.

"Yeah. How would you feel about that?" The blonde asks, but the brunette has already taken a step forward and she is nodding vigorously. Lucy finds her waist with one hand and with the other she brushes back some of her silky brunette hair.

"I'd like that." Rachel nods. "I don't know how easy you think I am... but I don't kiss on the first date." She says, but the way she's trembling and licking her lips does nothing in her favor.

The blonde chuckles, but stops her caress. "Is this really our first date?" She shrugs a little. "Maybe official..."

Rachel can't hide her smile anymore and makes the next movement. She puts her arms over Lucy's shoulders and leans in for her. The blonde meets her midway and they kiss gently.

It's perfect: how they fit together, how their bodies tingle with excitement. A sigh escape their mouths and when they finally break apart, they are breathless. They rest their foreheads together while they recover.

"Goodnight, Lucy." Rachel whispers as she tries to step back from those tempting lips. "See you soon?" She asks hopeful.

"Definitely." Lucy confirms. "Goodnight Rach." She follows the brunette and leaves a quick kiss on her lips before opening the door and sliding inside.

When Lucy closes the door, Rachel turns around and throws her arms in the air. The moon is her spotlight. She starts to sing in a quiet voice side to side down the stairs, putting on a show for herself.

"You got me hooked again from the minute you sat down,

the way you bite your lip got my head spinning around,

after a drink or two I was putty in your hands

I don't know if I have the strength to stand..."

She finishes the verse at the end of the stairs and sees a light in the back of her car. She does a double take and sure enough, she can see Lux filming her up. She stands mortified for a second and then composes herself and walks back to the car.

"You are never to show that to anyone, you hear me?" She says over the girls laughter.

"Aw, but you were so cute!" Tasha says.

"Shut up." Rachel answers back, with a smile playing on her lips. "How much did you get though? Weren't you supposed to be asleep?"

"Oh, we got all of it." Now answers Lux. "We screwed up your date, so we pretended to be asleep at the end." She keeps playing with her phone.

"And we gave you quite a show, huh?" She starts the engine and drives away.

"Oh, you gave us quite a rendition of Troublemaker, choreography included." Tasha laughs, while replaying the video on Lux's phone. As they laugh again at her face by the end of the clip, she huffs and chooses to ignore them.

Lucy hears the door click behind herself and leans on it. She looks up to the ceiling and brings her fingers to her lips. She replays the kiss over and over... and over again.

"Well, well..." Judy comes from the kitchen to find her daughter, a pint of ice cream in her hands. "If that dreamy smile is any indication, I'd say it went very good..." The young blonde sighs happily. "Tell me everything. I have another spoon!"

Lucy follows her mother to the living room and they settle on the couch, eating ice cream and talking about her date like in the old days.


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or Life Unexpected**

**A/N: I gather you all liked the last chapter, thank you for all the nice comments. Here is another one now. It's time for Sectionals.**

**Chapter - 18**

Things are not easy at school after everything. They get nasty looks in the hallways now that they got Peterson transferred to a military school. He was an important piece of the football team and one of the most popular guys in school. Also, a jerk. But they don't seem to care about that at all.

Sofia is back at school a few days later, when she finally recovers. It is even harder for her. Seth sees her going into the choir room with her lunch the first day and eat alone because she isn't welcomed anymore at the cheerios table and everyone's accusing eyes are on her.

He follows her and finds her crying.

"Are you ok?" He speaks.

Sofia turns around and wipes her eyes, then turns as if nothing has happened. "Yeah, of course. I just want to eat alone, if you don't mind..."

He bites his lip. "Well, I'm sorry, but you've taken our lunch spot. So either you join us -which I encourage you to- or you find another spot to... have lunch alone." He says.

"Our?" She says.

"Oh, yeah." He nods. Seth reaches for a squared piece of cloth on his backpack and puts it over the piano. Then, Lux comes through the door, followed by Tasha and Anna with some soda cans.

"Hello." Lux says. "How are you, Sofia? Are you joining us today?" She continues politely. Sofia looks at her in the eye. The latina knows what they are doing, but she tries to figure out why. She can't find no hidden motive. She can't find pity either, though. Just life sometimes suck.

The blonde raises her eyebrow and finally Sofia answers. "If you don't mind." Lux gives her a smile.

"Of course not." It is Seth who answers excitedly as he arranges the food over the piano and pushes the stools around it.

They are not one to judge people. They have suffered firsthand people's judgments. Lux and Tasha didn't have parents or a real home, so they must be delinquents. Seth and Anna have suffered their fair share of judgments in high school, too. So they welcome Sofia in their little group.

"I just can't understand why they don't get what happened." Tasha discusses with Anna at the end of the day. "I mean... he tried to force her. How can he be the victim here?"

"Apparently, she was the one to come on to him and when he rejected her, she played a number on him. She's a slut." Anna is visibly repulsed by what she is saying. She shakes her head.

"It's disgusting." Tasha shoves some books on her locker and shuts its.

"Yeah..."

Rachel tries to help as much as she can. She tries to raise awareness into her students and she fortunately counts with the help of all the faculty members. The direct attacks towards Sofia come to an end and people seems to start seeing things different, but her old friendships have been severed long ago.

Tasha has to study to a test coming up and Anna is helping her go through it. Lux wanders around and comes near the couch, where Rachel is sitting going through some papers she has to grade.

"So..." The blonde sits on the other end. "How are things going with Lucy?"

Rachel raises her head from the papers and takes in the position in which Lux is sitting. She puts her things away on the table and sits herself with her legs crossed.

"I... I think they are going great." She says excitedly. "I don't know. We've only had one real date. After that, we've been talking on the phone and had coffee the other day... we won't have a date this weekend because of Sectionals." She pouts for a second and then, leans forward. "Has she told you anything?" She says lowly.

She shakes her blonde head. "I've told you, I don't want to be in the middle of things. I was just curious." Lux says distractedly. "But she seems pretty happy." Rachel's smile widens comically and Lux chuckles. "I'm glad and kind of relieved that all the pushing Tasha and I did turned out okay."

"What would have you done if you had been wrong?" The brunette musses.

"Find another guardian?" Lux jokes. Rachel throws a cushion at her.

The brunette waits until Lux gets it out of her system and gets serious again. "And how are you doing with Lucy?" It's the first time Rachel chooses to address the fact that Lux has gone from calling the blonde Lucy to mom.

Lux finds funny how the question sounded. "It seems I'm the one dating her, huh?"

"Kind of." Rachel concedes. They've been making their plans, having coffee together, going to the mall... just spending time together, learning each other and trying to make up from the time they were separated.

"We are getting closer." Lux nods and a smile creeps over her face.

"And the m- word?"

"It... fitted." She sighs. "She really wants to fill that role..." She starts saying. "I really want her to fill it, too." Rachel nods silently and keeps listening. "We are getting along very well and... the other night in the hospital... she really cares about me, doesn't she?" She voices out loud.

Rachel nods. "I don't think she has ever cared more for anyone in her life." Lux looks down to her lap. "I'm very glad you are working things out. Building a relationship of this kind after years of separation it's hard. I know it. I failed at it with my own mother." She confesses.

It's a sore thing for Rachel to discuss, so Lux chooses not to press on it just yet and continues. "I'm just glad I even have the opportunity." She shakes her head. "I thought I'd never even meet her at this point."

Rachel smiles. She likes their little talks where she's not only her guardian, but someone she can talk to about what's going on in her mind, how she's feeling. They linger in the silence for a while and then... well, that's just enough.

Rachel grabs a cushion and throws it at Lux. The blonde stays still for a second, then turns slowly to look at Rachel, who is biting her lip.

"Huh..." She says calmly, picking up the cushion from the floor. She stares at it and suddenly she's over the sofa, slapping Rachel with it.

Suddenly without a weapon, the brunette reaches from Lux's waist and starts tickling her stomach. "No!" She screams.

The door opens, but they don't stop. Tasha finds them still fighting on the couch. "Hey, look who I've run into..." She starts.

"Surprise?" Lucy walks behind her with two boxes of pizza in her arms. She chuckles when she sees the situation and that snaps them out of it.

Rachel and Lux look from Tasha and Lucy back at each other. The brunette gets another cushion and they are up on their feet behind the other two.

The kids take her place, the host announces the McKinley's Gleeks and Rachel is left on the side watching everything play out.

The piano solo starts and the kids start coming onto the stage by pairs, reciting their verses. Lux appears from the right side of the stage, while Tasha walks from the left. The blonde feels pretty nervous, taking in the big audience, and looks for some reassurance in her best friend.

Tasha nods slightly, silently telling her it's ok, and then looks pointedly somewhere in the audience. Lux follows her sign and finds two blonde women standing up in the crowd. Lucy's smile widens when their eyes meet and she gives her a thumbs up.

_You could be the greatest,_

_you can be the best,_

_you can be the King Kong banging on your chest._

Backstage, the brunette is mumbling the words. They have come to the conclusion that this was a great song choice. Most of their competitors would be expecting some Broadway, giving her reputation, but this is a brilliant song, very powerful and inspiring.

_Dedicate yourself and you can find yourself_

_Standing in the hall of fame!_

_and the world is gonna know your name..._

Rachel bites her lip. There's a complicated dance move in here that she left to Anna and Jameson. She sighs in relief when they nail it, but she can't celebrate just yet. Tasha takes the front.

_Be students, be teachers,_

_be politicians, be preachers,_

_be believers, be leaders,_

_be astronauts, be champions, be truth seekers._

A slightly shorter version of The Script's song comes to an end. The group repositions and their second songs start. Lux suggested this one. Rachel herself and most of the kids didn't know it, but they had to agree: if they did it good, they would have the whole audience on their feet, singing along. It had that vibe.

The beat to Parachute's Something To Believe In fills the theatre and the blonde starts up the song. As it progresses, Rachel finally is able to comprehend Mr. Shue's behavior. Even if the brunette was pissed when they lost back then, he must have felt the same way she's feeling right now. No matter how they do tonight, she can't be more proud of their kids, who are visibly having fun on the stage, singing and meaning the words.

At the end, the whole group is standing at the edge of the stage, the music has died down and the only thing with their harmony are the voices of the audience and the claps to the beat of the chorus.

_You say, "keep my head from going down"_

_Just for a little, just for a little_

_Watch my feet float off the ground_

_Just for a little, just for a little_

_Love, if you can hear this sound_

_Oh, just give me something, something to believe in_

They join hands by the end and finish with them up in the air.

When they come backstage, they are pumped up on adrenaline, but they still have to wait for the judges to make their decision. They walk out back to their designated room and only after about 10 minutes, they are called back on stage.

"Come on, guys. Whatever happens now, you did an awesome job. We have come a long way and I couldn't be prouder of what you've done." Rachel speaks to them.

They gather on the stage by the other two groups and wait for the host to make a few bad jokes and to give out the places. Tasha is about to grab the envelope from the stupid host and read it herself so it can be faster, but Anna catches her hand and intertwines their fingers. On her other side, Lux puts one arm around the brunette's waist and the other holds onto Sofia. The latina girl smiles thankful and returns the favor.

"And the first place of tonight's competition goes to... McKinley High Gleeks!" Tasha feels a surge of energy come through her body and she's jumping around.

She finds herself hugging Anna pretty closely. After a few seconds more than necessary, she draws back. The sight of the petite girl in her arms moves something inside that she will have to try and process sooner rather than later. But for the moment, she gives a round of high fives and hugs to the other members of the club and Rachel, of course.

The audience and the other groups start finding their way home, the Gleeks keep celebrating in the theatre, some of them joining the families that have managed to attend the competition.

"Tasha! You did great, girl!" Lucy exclaims when she's within reach of the teens. The brunette turns around and meets Lucy in the middle.

"Hell, yeah!" She hugs her.

"Woah. You're happy."

Tasha steps back and notices that she's with someone. "Sorry, this is the first time I win something at a competition. It feels good."

"Yeah." She chuckles. "Tash, this is Judy, my mom."

"Oh, nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, honey. Lucy has told me a lot about you." The woman says back. Actually, Lux has told her a lot about Judy too. She firmly shakes her hand.

"Mom!" The blonde she's just been thinking about appears. "We won, mom!" Tasha chuckles when her friend jumps into her mother's arms. "Oh... hello." She says when she stands back.

"It's good to see you again, Lux." Judy puts her arms around her granddaughter and sighs.

Rachel comes next. "Hey. I didn't know you were coming."

"I couldn't miss your first competition. The first for Lux and Tasha, the first you direct..." She leans and kisses Rachel's lips. The brunette smiles and checks distractedly what Judy's expression is like. The woman seems oblivious.

"Apparently, you weren't the only one who thought that." Rachel says and chuckles at the confused look Lucy gives her.

"Long time no see, Lucy Q." Santana smirks.

Seth finds Anna and Sofia when the people start filing out of the theatre. "Congratulations, girls. You were amazing!" He exclaims.

"I was so freaking nervous!" Sofia says.

"I thought I was going to fall over." Anna says too, distractedly. Her eyes are on Tasha and Lux.

The very perceptive latina notices. "What's that all about?" Sofia follows her eyes and asks. Seth turns around and the three of them are left staring at their friend.

They ponder whether to tell her or not. It's not like it is a secret. "Well... you know Lux and Tasha are foster kids and are under Mrs. Berry's custody?" Starts Seth.

"Yeah?"

"The blonde with the short hair, Quinn Fabray, though she now goes by Lucy, is Lux's mother and the older one is her grandmother. Turns out Rachel knew Lucy and actually went to school with her." Anna fills in.

"I don't know who the other two are, though." Seth supplies and Anna shrugs, she doesn't know either. The women are greeting the others as they just got there. The latina one turns around and Sofia gasps.

"Oh, I know." Sofia says now and Anna and Seth whip their heads. "Quinn Fabray. Santana Lopez. Brittany Pierce. The Unholy Trinity."


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter - 19**

_"Oh, I know." Sofia says now and Anna and Seth whip their heads. "Quinn Fabray. Santana Lopez. Brittany Pierce. The Unholy Trinity."_

"Who, now?" Seth asks after a few minutes of silence. Anna bites her lip as both of them turn to look at Sofia.

"Sylvester would probably hang you if she had listened to you just now." She says with a shake of her head. "At least you know about the three championships she won in a row a loooong time ago."

Seth nods, so Anna answers. "Yeah, that we gathered."

"The Unholy Trinity were the three cheerios that lead that team and ruled the whole high school back then."

"Wow." Seth says.

"Yeah..." Sofia crosses her arms over her chest when she's sure they have gathered how important and epic these women are.

It was after the incredible kiss Lucy puts in her lips nonchalantly in front of the of the girls and her mother. The brunette opens her eyes and sees Santana and Brittany behind them, watching everything develop. The latina has already a smirk in her face and Rachel feels like laughing.

"Apparently, you weren't the only one who thought like that." Rachel answers and Lucy follows her line of sight and finds her old friends, standing a few steps behind of them. Santana has a hand on her hip and that smirk in her face. Brittany looks very happy and has both hands in her pockets.

"Long time no see, Lucy Q." She exclaims when she finally gets Lucy's attention.

The blonde turns around completely to them. The little Skype session with them hasn't prepared Lucy for the overwhelming sensation of seeing her two best friends growing up again after fifteen years. The changes are visible in both of them. Hell, the changes must be visible in herself. Their eyes look older and wiser, the stance is nearly the same it was back then.

Lucy bears a huge smile and it's the only sign Brittany needs to take the last steps and go in for a hug. She gasps when she finds herself with a handful of blonde hair.

"I've missed you, Luce." Brittany's bear hugs feel familiar even after so much time.

"I've missed you too, BritBrit." She realizes how stupid she has been. How she could have lost this awkward, yet amazing friendship with these two peculiar individuals.

After a while, she steps back. "Then, don't you disappear on us again." She tells her and Lucy almost melts at the sweetness. "San gets very hurt and tries to pass it up as anger." Lucy nods and huffs at the way Santana has of expressing her emotions and how Brittany has always understood it.

"I won't. I promise." She tells her with honesty, she has already dealt with her demons, she doesn't have to keep them away anymore.

Brittany seems satisfied. She smiles again and hugs Rachel now. She even picks her up in the air for a second. The little brunette can't help but laugh along.

Santana steps closer and stands just in front of Lucy with her arms crossed. The blonde seizes her up, looking her eye to eye. Santana raises one eyebrow and as a response, Lucy raises hers. Suddenly they are both laughing and the latina uncrosses her arms to embrace her. It is actually a pretty weird scene as far as Lux is concerned.

"It's good to see you again, Juno." She squeezes one more time and steps back. "Smurfette..." She puts a hand on the brunette's shoulder.

Brittany nods her head to Rachel. "I've missed you too, Santana." She says with a smile.

"What are you doing here, girls?" Judy asks while she's greeting her daughter's old friends.

"It's been a long time since we were last back home." The latina starts. "We were just on our way and we decided to stop and meet you here."

"Also, San said Rachel probably would have jumped on the judges' backs if they had lost." Brittany fills in and Judy starts laughing.

"I would have not!" Lucy laughs now too at her dignified answer.

"Followed by an angry ex cheerio kicking their asses." Lucy stops laughing immediately. "And that would have been worth seeing."

Lucy ponders. "Meh. The last part could've been true." She says totally serious, making all of them burst into laughter.

"So..." Santana approaches Lux. "You are little Beth, huh?" She says. The teenage blonde raises an eyebrow. "Lux, whatever, you get what I mean." The blonde nods, now. "Now that you are back home, it's time you meet auntie San." Santana extends her hand with a wicked smile and she shakes it cautiously.

Santana hasn't pulled back her hand, when a couple of arms catch the blonde from behind. She gasps and the arms pull her momentarily in the air. She turns around and is met with an enthusiastic Brittany. She feels it's contagious and she ends up laughing with her.

Santana notices Tasha by their side. "I'm Santana. And you are?" She seizes her up while she waits for her answer.

"I'm Tasha. Lux's friend." She shakes her hand while seizing Santana right back. They stare at each other's eyes and the latina seems impressed with what she sees.

Finally, she smirks. Tasha crosses her arms over her chest and raises her eyebrow.

"Tasha lives with us. I'm her guardian, too." Rachel butts in.

"Oh, poor thing." Santana says as a joke, but instead of making the teen brunette even chuckle, Tasha gives her a murderous look.

"Oh, she's just like San was in high school." Brit exclaims. "Hey, I'm Brittany." She squeezes the girl. "Don't mind San, she's just kidding."

Rachel chuckles herself. She gives a look around the empty theatre and checks her watch. "So... are you staying in Lima for a while?" She asks Santana and Brittany.

"Yeah. We're back for a few days."

"Great." Rachel says and she is actually really glad. "We..." She starts signaling the girls and herself. "...have to go back in the bus with the rest of the club. So we'll see you back in town, right?"

"You bet your ass." Santana says.

"How gangsta." Lucy suggests. Rachel gives a round of quick hugs and a peck to Lucy's lips before going back to the teens and guiding them to the bus. Lux gives her mother and grandmother a quick hug too and Tasha just waves as she walks away, back to their friends.

"So... you and Thumbelina?" Santana asks, although the answer is obvious. Lucy just nods. "Took you long enough..." She comments.

Lucy huffs. "Yeah, totally." Brittany agrees, cutting Lucy's huffing off.

"Seriously?" She asks.

"Yeah, honey..." Judy also intervenes.

"Mom?" She can't be more shocked.

"What? You were obsessed with her in high school. Once you came out, it all became pretty clear." Lucy's jaw falls open, she's lost for words while her friends keep laughing.

Rachel walks through the bus' aisle towards where the girls are sitting.

"Girls, do you have any plans for the rest of the weekend?" She stands around.

"Not really." Tasha shakes her head.

"I was hoping to hang out a little with Bug... why?" Lux asks.

"I was thinking of doing a get together barbecue or something at our house." She muses. "You can invite whoever you want, of course. I'll invite the whole bunch: Santana, Brittany, Noah, Finn..."

"My mom, of course..." Lux interrupts.

"Of course." Rachel pauses. "I was thinking maybe my dads would want to come. It'll be just a quiet thing at home. What do you girls think?"

"I think it'll be perfect, Rachel."

"Good. So I'll text everyone and we are grocery shopping as soon as we get home." The teacher nods and heads back to the front.

"Okay..." Tasha nods and turns to Anna. "You coming tomorrow?"

She smiles at her friend, she ponders and finally she nods. "Yeah, sure."

"And you too, right?" Lux asks Sofia. The latina shrugs and nods with a smile.

"Great." Tasha is satisfied and goes back to playing Angry Birds on Lux's phone. She has been really quiet since the moment they won and that's not like her at all.

Anna bites her lip. She doesn't know what to make of all this. Her eyes wonder to Lux, who is looking at her intently. Anna looks from Lux to Tasha, to Lux again, asking a silent question. The blonde shrugs a little, but nods reassuringly. She'll find out. Anna smiles at her in gratitude.

When they arrive back at McKinley, the news have spread and there are a couple of cars in the parking lot, waiting for the winners and ready to party. They cheer up when they come out of the bus. Things have really changed since her time in Glee club and certainly having important members from the football and cheerios teams is useful. This also is a brilliant excuse for a party. Rachel smiles, but it's a little worried what will become of this little party.

"Hey." Jones appears behind Tasha. "You are Tasha, right?" She gives him a once over and nods. "I'm Jones." He extends his hand and she shakes it with a coy smile. "Aren't you coming to the party?"

She considers for a while without taking her eyes from him. He's handsome. "Maybe later." Lux, Anna and Sofia wait a few steps farther while Jones tells her where the party is and tells her he'll be saving a dance for her.

"We'll be stopping at the store to buy supplies for tomorrow before dropping you girls home, is that okay?"

"Yeah, don't worry Mrs. B." Sofia answers. "We can help you, it's the least we can do."

Rachel almost buys the whole store, so she invites Anna and Sofia to dinner as long as they give her a hand unloading everything. They chuckle and accept.

She takes a while to arrange everything in the fridge, but after that she walks to find the girls in the couch laughing at the TV.

"Hey, what are you in the mood for? Chinese?" Rachel drops into an empty spot, tired.

"Yes, sure. But we don't want to impose. We can walk home now." Anna offers.

"No way. I promised you dinner. I just don't have much energy to cook something now." The latina chuckles. "Where is Tasha, by the way." It's the only teen not in the living room.

She appears from her bedroom in a new outfit: a very tight black shirt coupled with a pair of very short denim shorts.

"Rachel, I want to go the celebration party." She informs her guardian.

"You alone?" The brunette searches the girls' faces and discovers that Tasha is alone in this and that Anna looks like a tomato.

"Well, there'll be people there." She ponders what to do in this situation. Finally, she stands up, goes into her bedroom and comes back with a box.

She stops at the table and Tasha walks near her. She doesn't know what Rachel's doing. She peeks over her shoulder and finds an iPhone. The brunette is putting the SIM card in and turning the thing on. Tasha feels her eyes watering, but shakes it off.

"I got you a phone. I don't expect you two to be together at all times, so you need a phone too. I'm sorry it took this long. I was going to install it and save the important numbers in it, but if you are going out, you need it right now." Rachel finishes punching her number in and gives Tasha the phone.

"The party is within walking distance?" Tasha nods. "You have a curfew, you know that?" Again, she nods. "Do not drink... or at least, do not drink much." She starts listing. Rachel looks towards the couch and gives Sofia a sad smile. She turns back to Tasha. "Be smart. Don't accept any drink if you haven't seen it been poured."

"If anything happens, call me, okay?" She finishes.

Tasha smiles, looks at her friends in the couch and her stance changes. She pockets the phone. "Can I go now?"

Rachel sighs. "Have fun. Be safe."

"Okay..." She turns around and says bye to her friends, then she leaves.

"Did you girls have a fight or something?" Rachel asks as soon as she's out.

Sofia looks around. "No. Not really." She shrugs. "I guess she really wanted to go the party. Jones invited her." She looks back to her friends and suddenly she seems concerned. "You don't have to stay back for me if you want to go to the party, you know?" She stands up. "I will go home, I have tons of homework, you just go and have fun."

"Sit down, Sofia." Lux stretches on the couch. "I don't want to go anywhere tonight, I'm pretty comfy right here."

"Parties are not my thing." Anna shakes her head. The latina sits back down with a shy smile.

"Why don't you choose from the menu and I'll call in a while?" Rachel walks away. Lux gives the girls the menu and excuses herself. She follows the brunette and finds her checking the barbecue.

"Hey." She surprises Rachel.

"Oh, hey. I'm just checking this out." She stops. She is keeping busy and trying not to over think it, but as soon as she finds Lux seeking her, she gives up. "Is something going on?" She asks worried.

"I'm not sure." Lux shrugs.

Rachel stands up and puts her hands on her hips. "What is it?"

"Tasha has a very particular way of freaking out." She starts. "She tends to make a lot of mistakes in the process."

Rachel crosses her arms over her chest. "That's inconvenient." She bites her lip. "Any idea what she is freaking out about?"

Lux chuckles. "Probably."

"Should I be worried?" It's the next question.

The teen shrugs. "I hope not."


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter - 20**

As soon as she is near the house, Tasha starts regretting her decision of coming here. It definitely was impulsive, because she does have a tendency to run from trying to understand feelings. Right now, this party seems like a perfect excuse not to deal with anything complicated. Whatever. That can wait. It's time to have some fun.

She watches some kids from school enter the house and she joins them. She takes a sweep at the place. This party is not like the last one she was in. It's a disaster zone. It's crowded with drunk individuals, trashing the place.

She looks around, walks through the people drinking and dancing, looking for Jones or another familiar face to tag along. She finally finds him in the kitchen, pouring himself a beer.

"Hey! You came!" He exclaims over excited. This must not be his first beer.

She smiles, though. "Yeah, of course, I didn't want to miss the party." She chuckles. "We are celebrating our win, right?"

He laughs. "Yeah. That was a nice excuse for the party." He shrugs. "Do you want a beer?" He offers, reaching for a red cup.

"No, thanks." She looks around. "You want to dance?" She says suggestively. Jones leaves the cup behind with no second thoughts and goes to the dance floor with her.

The loud music - noise -, the flickering lights and the dozens of moving bodies around them make it easy for Tasha to let her mind blank and not think about all of the shit she is feeling lately.

Jones serves as a good dance partner. There is some contact, but he doesn't grope grossly. He dances pretty well and makes stupid faces occasionally when their eyes meet to make her laugh. He is an stupid, good looking jock, who is easy, uncomplicated and already seems into her. She leans forward and starts making out with him.

She doesn't know how long it is before she feels a push and the side of her shirt completely soaked through. She steps back from Jones. "What the hell dude?!" She yells, to no one in particular, checking the damage the drink has made to her outfit.

She notices then, that the people around them are quickly disappearing towards the back of the house. Through the windows, she can see faint red and blue lights. "F*ck. I have to get out of here." She says, to no one in particular.

She has been stupid, freaking stupid. She has found a good home to live in, where she has a whole room to herself, her best friend and a guardian that truly seems to care about her, really good people around her and an incredible... new friend. And the first time she freaks out, she goes out and messes it all up, getting caught by the cops in an underage party with lots and lots of alcohol that she stinks of. Unstable foster living, or something. It is just ironic that what made her freak out in the first place was just that.

Jones grabs her arm and pulls her in that direction. "We have to go. Fast."

Jones seems to know his way around the house, she notices, and he guides her quickly into the kitchen and to the backyard. The brunette looks around and can't see any exit. Maybe she was mistaken. "Jones...?" She says with doubt.

The guy walks around the swimming pool and to the other side of the yard. He pushes one of the wood panels that make the tall fence and it rotates a little upwards, leaving enough space for someone to crouch and pass beneath it. "Come on." He signs for her to pass, so she does.

On the other side there is just a completely empty, narrow alley at the back of the houses. She grabs the panel for him and Jones comes out, although with a little more difficulty. He stands up and brushes the legs of his jeans, getting rid of some mud that has adhered to them. Tasha's outfit is already covered in what smells like beer, so it seems pointless worrying about a patch of green around her knees. She needs a shower anyway.

Jones looks up and gives her a smile. "I've seen Kevin sneaking out this way plenty of times." He looks around and signs for her to walk to the right and into a main street where they have successfully avoided the police. "So... do you want to go somewhere?"

She looks at the hopeful guy in front of her and she feels like someone has stomped on her stomach. She puts her arms around her. "Look, I'm sorry Jones. It was a mistake." She looks down. "I'll see you around."

"Okay..." He says, a little gutted, but not letting Tasha get away. "Do you want an ice cream for the way home, though? I'm getting a chocolate cone." He says, pointing to the creamery on the other side of the road.

"So why didn't Seth come and help us again?" Lux drops onto the couch besides her three friends.

Sofia answers. "He said he had a thing with his parents in the city. A charity event or something. He had to wear suit and tie and everything."

"Pic or didn't happen." Anna huffs as she sends a text away.

"And Bug?" She asks right back.

"Texted him saying it looked like a girls night." She explains. "He said congratulations, that he loves me and he is feeling kind of tired after his shift, so he'll see me tomorrow."

"You ladies want to watch some movie or something?" Rachel asks the three teenagers when she comes back into the living room with some sodas. Her phone starts ringing and she looks at it. "Well, you girls pick something up. If the take out comes, there's money in the counter, Lux."

"Okay." The girl says. "Is that my mom?" She asks as an afterthought.

Rachel smiles back as she retreats to her bedroom. "Yeah. Do you want me to tell her something?"

Lux thinks about it and shakes her head. "I'll see her tomorrow."

"So, I don't mean to pry or anything, but..." Sofia starts curiously. Lux is browsing through the dvd collection, seeing if there's something worth watching tonight. "Your foster parent is your mom's girlfriend? How does that all work?"

Lux chuckles and goes back to the couch with a few dvd cases. Anna picks them up while listening carefully to her answer. "Well... when you put it like that it's incredibly weird. Rachel became my foster parent before we knew who my mother was. It turned out she went to high school with my mother. When she turned up, I started bonding with her and they continued working on their friendship. But it was pretty obvious that they had deeper feelings for each other, so I kind of encouraged them to go out."

"Huh." The latina nods. "So you are more than okay with that." Sofia states, looking over Anna's shoulder to the dvds.

"Yeah." She smiles winningly.

Anna's phone chimes and she quickly fiddles with it. "Oh, the suit looks good on him."

"Let me see." Sofia peers over Anna's shoulder. "He looks cute." She states.

Lux waits her turn. Anna turns the phone in her direction and she nods approvingly at the brunette boy fixing his bow tie and smiling to the camera. "You do know he has a huge crush on you, right?"

"Yeah." Sofia says. "But I don't think I feel the same way about him. He is just a friend." The other two nod.

"So what did you think of the Gleeks performance?" Rachel asks into the phone.

"It was amazing, Rachel. You've got a pretty talented group and clearly you have some very good ideas for them." She compliments. "I enjoyed so much seeing Lux and Tash up there. They were amazing. Are they happy about the win?"

Rachel sighs. "The group is having some sort of celebratory party tonight. I bet it's a good excuse for the whole high school to party, actually. After what happened with Sofia in the last one, though, Lux and Anna have decided to have their own little celebration here."

"And Tasha?" Lucy asks without missing a beat.

"She got invited to the party by Jones."

"One of the jock that accidentally punched your nose?" Lucy asks after a few seconds.

Rachel nods, although she can't see her. "Yeah. The one that profusely apologized when I went back. I don't think he is all that bad, actually."

"So Tasha went to the party with him? That doesn't seem like something she would do..." Lucy wonders out loud.

"No, it doesn't. Lux seems to think that she is freaking out about something. And says she tends to make some mistakes in the process."

"Any idea what is it about?" The blonde asks curiously.

"Not a clue. She's been doing pretty well at school, considering, and pretty well at home." She pauses. "Lux has gotten new friends, so I thought that she might be somewhat jealous of the attention she gives them. But I don't know, I thought Anna and Tasha had become really good friends too. So there's really no reason for her to be jealous."

A wild thought comes through the blonde's mind, but she finally shakes her and sighs. "These things are part of growing up, I guess. Remember when we were their age."

Rachel chuckles. "That doesn't reassure me at all."

"We just have to hope she is smart enough not to mess up too bad, then." Lucy finishes after echoing her laughter.

"Yeah." She hears Rachel say quietly.

After some moments of silence, she clears her throat and speaks. "So tomorrow is the barbecue..." Lucy tries to change the subject. "Do you need me to bring something? Do you want me to go early to help you set up?"

"I dragged the girls to the store today to buy enough supplies, so no. And it shouldn't be too difficult to set up in the morning." She says, without much excitement.

Lucy smiles sadly on the other end. "Are you going to wait awake and by the phone for Tasha to come home?"

"Probably." Rachel pouts, feeling crazy. "Although she does have a curfew, that I hope she keeps."

Lucy sighs. "Can you text me when she does?"

"No problem." Rachel smiles.

They finally settled for one of the few movies that didn't fall in the musical category in Rachel's collection. The food came and they made quick work of it. After a while, Rachel offered to take them home, as it had been a long day and they were already tired.

With Lux in the front seat and the other two girls in the back, they drive first to Anna's and then to Sofia's. As they stop in front of Sofia's house, the latina steps out and stands just outside the car. A block down, she can see a couple of cops cars.

"Guys, I think that's where the party was supposed to be."

Rachel and Lux look at each other and then, forward, to the lights of the cars. The house is a couple of blocks away from their own house, barely a ten minutes walk.

The brunette withdraws her phone from her pocket to see if she has missed some call or text, but there are no new notifications. "Sofia, why don't you get home? Say hi to your dad for me, okay?" Sofia nods slowly.

"I'll text you." Lux tells her. This seems to convince her and she starts walking to her door. Rachel doesn't move the car until Sofia is inside her house.

She slowly makes her way ahead and slowly passes the house. A couple of cars have their lights on, but there are more cops once they get there and paramedics checking the more intoxicated teenagers. "I don't think she is here." Rachel says, between relieved and still scared of the missing teenager.

"They could already have taken her down to the station." Lux bites her lip.

Rachel doesn't let Lux's negativity get to her just yet. "Try her phone."

Lux starts fiddling with her phone and then, she freezes frustrated. "I don't have her number." Rachel just gave Tasha her new phone.

The brunette doesn't reply, but carefully takes her own phone out. Lux quickly fiddles with it and puts it on speakerphone. "Come on... come-" The call is dropped, as if Tasha had rejected it. "What the...?" She tries again. It rings and rings, but finally at the end, she picks up at the other end.

"Hey." Tasha says.

"Don't 'hey' me. Where are you?" She snaps. "We know the party's been busted."

There is a pause in the other side and a sigh. "I'm outside."

It stuns Lux into silence. "What? Outside where?" Rachel looks into the rearview mirror at the front lawn of the house they passed, although she can't make anything anymore. She was not there. Rachel shakes her head and starts picking her pace back home, without actually going over the speeding limit.

"Outside your house..." She says slowly, like it was obvious. There is a murmur on her side of the line and pretty soon she continues. "Wait, where the hell are you?"

Rachel turns to their street and the headlights soon pick up two silhouettes in the empty street. Tasha huffs and disconnects the call.

The brunette parks in the driveway and they quickly get out. "Are you okay?" She says, walking towards Tasha. "Hi, Jones." She notices.

"Hi, Mrs. Berry. I... We..." He stumbles.

"I'm fine, Rachel." Tasha articulates, looking from Lux to Rachel. "I should've split when I saw how out of control it was. But we got out before the cops saw us and started questioning the stability of my fostering situation."

Jones shrugs and finds his voice. "It wouldn't have been that bad, right? You didn't even have a drink."

Tasha shrugs. "But you stink of booze." Rachel points out.

"Some asshole dropped a whole beer on me when he tried to flee the party." Tasha looks at the damage on her outfit. "Just for that, I hope they caught him." Her little joke makes them see that she is really okay and they chuckle.

Lux walks to her best friend's side and hangs her arm around her neck. "So... girls, Mrs. Berry, I'll see you at school, I guess." Jones says walking backwards.

"Thanks again, Jones. You didn't have to accompany home."

"I know." He shrugs.

Tasha bites her lip. "And I'm sorry." Jones waves her off.

"Hey, Jones. Do you want me to give you a ride?"

"No, thanks Mrs. Berry. I'll be fine. The fresh air will do me good." He shrugs and walks away. "See you."

"Bye." They say.

They watch him until he disappears away. Rachel turns then around to the two teenagers under her care. "Let's get home." Lux pulls from Tasha's shoulders and they walk in front of the brunette towards the house. "Hey, what do you have there?" She says when she notices the bag hanging from her hand.

Tasha passes the bag to her. "Chocolate ice cream. Vegan."

"Nice." Lux exclaims.

"Hello." Rachel opens her door to Lucy and Judy.

"Hey." Lucy comes in first, pecking at the brunette's lips. She smiles giddily up at the blonde. "I told you I would come early to help."

"And I came early to have some more time with my granddaughter." Judy comes next. "Thanks for inviting us, Rachel. We brought you some hors d'oeuvre."

"Thank you for coming, Judy." The brunette says as she closes the door behind them.

"Hey, where are the girls?" Lucy asks, when she sweeps the apartment and doesn't see the teenagers.

"In Tasha's room." She simply says. The younger blonde asks a silent question. "Last night, when she came from the party, she brought ice cream." She explains. "Not sure if they talked it all out yet, but the pint is empty and they are all sprawled on the bed." Lucy chuckles and Rachel looks at the clock. "Anyway, it's about time they get up and in the shower. I've let them sleep more than enough." She says, taking slow steps towards that bedroom. The brunette sighs. "Lux is pretty cranky in the mornings..."

Judy chuckles. "Just like her mother..." Lucy huffs a laugh. "I can do it if you want to." She offers.

"Be my guest." Rachel signs towards the closed door. Judy passes the tray to her daughter, leaves her purse in the living room and goes to what she supposes is Tasha's bedroom.

"Good morning, sleepyheads." They hear the woman singsong as she goes into the room.

Lucy smiles to herself and starts making her way to the kitchen. Rachel follows her close. The blonde leaves her things on the kitchen counter and turns around suddenly, surprising the brunette.

She grabs her waist to keep her close and kisses her again, at a more passionate and leisured pace. They just savor each other lips, holding on to the exciting feeling that runs through their bodies. The blonde's hands doesn't go too far as they touch the bare skin of the brunette's lower back, too distracted by intensity of the kiss and other girl's hands going through her hair.

It could have been a few minutes or hours, but they know they are nowhere near done when they hear someone clear her throat. "Good morning." A blonde mess says from the doorway to the kitchen. Rachel and Lucy stop kissing, but don't really step away from each other. "If I already had some coffee in me, I would maybe say you are cute or something. But I really need a coffee."

She bypasses the two to the other side of the kitchen, grabs a mug from the cabinet and the coffee pot from behind them. She puts her sugar and cream and takes a big sip. Rachel and Lucy observe how she drinks it slowly, with her eyes closed. Then, she opens her eyes and smiles at them. "Continue." She motions them with the hand that holds her mug and turns around to leave.

Rachel follows with her eyes how the blonde teenager exits the kitchen with her coffee and as she is about to turn back to the thing at hand, she feels that the blonde really has a thing at her hands.

"Lucy!" She yelps and the blonde chuckles and moves her hands back to her waist. "Your daughter just caught as and you think it's fine to keep going?"

She shrugs. "She did tell us to continue."

The brunette huffs and lets her arms fall. Lucy looks deflated for about the second it takes Rachel to put her hands on the blonde's butt. Then, she cuts Lucy's surprised squeal with a deep kiss.

"Ugh. Seriously? In front of the coffee?" Another moody teenager says from the doorway.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter - 21**

"Hey, Berry! I've brought some booze!" Puck says as soon as he is through the door with a couple of beer boxes. Puck and Matt are the last ones to make it to the barbecue, as last night the bar was open and they actually went to sleep early this morning. The two of them open a couple of bottles and go outside.

The rest of the party is around the house and the backyard mingling. Finn is at the barbecue, cooking the meat that Rachel won't touch. Lux and Bug are looking through the iPod connected to the sound system, choosing the next few songs. Leroy is animatedly talking with Judy, while Hiram hangs around them, contributing from time to time to their conversation and making sure Leroy is completely comfortable. Brittany and Santana were telling Lucy how their lives in California are going and now the blonde seems to be showing the other some new moves she's come up with.

Tasha and their friends are sitting by themselves, talking about Seth's experience at the charity gala. Sofia listens to the obviously exaggerated tale of how he met some famous people and laughs with him. Anna nods along at the excited boy's monologue while eyeing curiously Tasha out of the corner of her eye.

"Hey, guys. How are you doing?"

"Great Mrs. B." Sofia and Seth answer in a chorus.

"Oh, please. I asked you two to call me Rachel when we are out of school." She repeats with a chuckle. The two teenagers look at each other and shrug. They don't seem to have made up her mind to call her by her name. Anna just laughs. "I'm going inside. Can I get you something to drink or something? " She tells them.

The teenagers eye their drinks and seem fine. "I'll help you." Tasha volunteers, following Rachel inside.

Rachel puts various glasses on the counter and gets the ice from the freezer. "Are you having fun, Tasha?" She tries.

The younger brunette shrugs, her arms tucked around her chest. "I guess."

Rachel sighs, she isn't going to get anything from her. She stops in her tracks, turning to the teenager. "I'm not really sure what was going on last night or what you and Lux have talked about, but I just want to say that I am here too if you ever want to talk... if you need anything at all. I'm not going anywhere and neither are you, for as long as you want to."

She sees a little frown come across her otherwise plain features. She locks her eyes with the teenager's. "I love you, Tasha. I know we all came together in a rather... accidental way, but we have formed our little family and I absolutely love it." Tasha's eyebrow pops a little upwards, as if surprised. "We have each other and balance each other out quite well." She continues. "While I tend to look into the bright side of life, Lux is a very catastrophic person. And you..." She chuckles, to herself. "You serve us both with sarcastic jokes and reality checks. I feel pretty lucky to have found the two of you."

Rachel doesn't expect Tasha's walls to fall down in an instant. And they don't. However she feels them tremble slightly around her. Rachel takes advantage of this to take a step into Tasha's personal space and wrap her in a bear hug.

The teenager tenses up. "I'm a mess." She shakes her head slowly. "I freak out and do stupid things."

"Teen hormones. Maybe you can try to think things through first." Rachel shrugs it off.

"I'm harsh and rude." She continues.

"That's part of your charm." Rachel chuckles. The brunette kisses the teen's head. "I am not going to get rid of you, Tasha. I'm going to fight for you, I'm going to earn your trust, I'm going to keep loving you and squeezing you into as many hugs as you let me. Probably until you are fed up with me." The teen chuckles. "But I hope with time you grow more comfortable here and they're just plain annoying." She says, squeezing her again. Tasha doesn't return her embrace, but relaxes into it, leans in even.

"Hey, what's going on?" A blonde head comes into the kitchen and finds them hugging. Tasha tenses a little, but Rachel doesn't let go. "Can I join?" Lucy leaves her empty glass on the counter and opens her arms wide. "I love hugs."

"Seriously..." Tasha musters, as Lucy joins in and puts her arms around the both of them.

Lucy just chuckles. "Yep."

After a couple of minutes, Tasha coughs and disentangles the two of them from her. She turns around to the fridge and gets a couple of sodas and a couple of glasses with ice. Lucy doesn't move too much and continues embracing only Rachel, nuzzling into the shorter woman's neck.

Tasha smiles at them. "You two are disgusting." She states. Rachel laughs at her antics.

"We are disgustingly sweet?" She asks.

Tasha nods and chuckles. "Yeah, you are something."

"So what do you think?" Rachel continues, completely ignoring that Lucy is there listening. "Do you think we are good together? Do you approve of her?"

"Wait, she doesn't approve?" Lucy recriminates Rachel.

Rachel shrugs. "She's never said a word one way or the other." She looks back at the teen. "Not to put you on the spot or anything."

"You don't like me?" Lucy snaps her attention to the teenager.

Tasha chuckles at the blonde's pout. It reminds her a whole lot to Lux's pout. "It's not like it matters, you know."

"Of course it matters." Rachel and Lucy say in a chorus. For a second, they look at each other. Then Rachel continues. "Of course it matters, Tasha. You are part of this family. Your opinion matters to me."

"I am not part of your family, but it matters to me too." The blonde musters, a little gutted. "I care about you."

Tasha's astonished look speaks for itself. "Really." Rachel intervenes, giving her more time to process. "I mentioned last night that you went out on your own and she called me at 3 am to ask me if you made it back okay." She explains.

"I actually asked you to text me when she did, but you didn't and I had an awful feeling that something had happened so I decided to call you at 3 am." She recriminates. "And you were completely asleep."

"Well, I'm sorry I forgot, but you got the message." She continues. "Now, come on. Take these drinks to the guests or something. We'll follow you out."

"Yes, ma'am." She salutes and starts to leave with her hands full.

"Lucy?" Tasha speaks, with a little voice. "You're cool." She finishes. The blonde smiles at her and nods happily, before finally walking out.

Rachel takes the rest of the drinks and stops by Tasha. "It's okay." She tells her. The teenager breathes out slowly. "You are doing great. Little steps, okay?" After some consideration, Tasha nods. Rachel bumps her hip against the teenager's. "Now, come on. We have friends and family outside. Let's have fun."

As they walk out the house and into the backyard, Rachel spots Lux spying on Tasha from their friends group. Just one look at her friend and she quickly fixes her questioning eyes onto the diva. Rachel nods, reassuring her. Things will be all right.

"Hey, Rach." Lucy comes along again. "Everything okay?" She asks, a little worried.

The brunette nods. "Yes." She answers, keeping her sight on Tasha. The teenager sits on an empty chair by Lux's side and the blonde puts her arm around her shoulder, dragging her to lean in. Tasha complies to her best friend and finally she smiles, relaxed. "I hope it'll be okay."

Rachel sighs and looks back to the blonde. "Am I going to complicate things? Maybe we should just..."

"No, it doesn't really have anything to do with you." She quickly assures her. Then she sighs. "I think she is getting comfortable in this living situation... and that's exactly her problem. She doesn't want to get comfortable here, because she isn't used to these things to last." Lucy bites her lip and continues listening. "I talked to her, told her she is here for the long haul, that I love her and am going to earn her trust. It's going to take time, but we'll get there. Seeing that you care about her may have helped too." She pauses. "And just so you know, I was pretty sure she didn't have a problem with you - she was way about you, but she's accepted you now -. It was just a way of including her in the issues affecting this family." She adds as an afterthought.

Lucy nods along, smiling, and kisses Rachel's forehead. "You are amazing, you know that?" Rachel gives her a weird look. "Yes, you are. You have taken in not only one, but two teenagers and you are doing an unbelievable job with them."

"I'm just doing my best. Not sure it's unbelievable, though." She huffs.

She shakes her head, smiling. "And you are modest." Lucy leans in and kisses her slowly, not deepening it, just savoring the chaste kiss. She finally leans back after a few minutes, not too far, their breaths still mingling, their eyes still closed. "I really, really like you, Rachel." Lucy whispers, loud enough for Rachel to hear in the close distance. "If it wasn't so early in our relationship, I might've said I love you."

Rachel's face lights up, her smile grows impossibly big and her eyes brighten up happily. "I really, really like you too." She chuckles. "But for the record, I do think our relationship is quite special and it just took us too damn long to start dating."

"Did you just swear?" Lucy intervenes.

Taking advantage of the already short distance between them, Rachel brings their lips together again in a more leisurely paced kiss, effectively shutting the blonde up. The kiss quickly grows in intensity and Lucy recovers pushing her tongue into the brunette's mouth, massaging her tongue and making a moan escape from her throat.

"Excuse me?" Their make out session is cut short. Lucy immediately pulls away. Rachel slows her down, keeping Lucy's lower lip between her teeth, reluctant to break apart. "If that's my ginger ale, can I have it before the ice melts from the heat between you two?"

Lucy's pale skin gradually turns impossibly crimson. Rachel huffs and takes the ginger ale to her father, finally freeing her hands. She looks back at her girlfriend... if only she could put them back into Lucy while they go back to kissing.

The blonde squirms under Rachel's eyes and follows her girlfriend to the little group of parents. They were so lost in their little world that it didn't even cross her mind the thought that somebody might be watching in this little party, much less Rachel's fathers. "Oh, you look good in red, Lucy." Leroy continues.

"Daddy." Rachel wines like a five years old.

Hiram shakes his head, half amused. "Leroy..."

"Relax, honey. I'm just having some fun." He says, shipping his drink. "You two looked completely adorable, by the way. Until it seemed you wanted to rip each other's clothes off." He continues joking at the end of his compliment. A little smile plays on Lucy's lips as she continues to look red. "How are you doing, Lucy?" He asks the blonde. The Berrys have already met Lucy several times since she appeared back in Rachel and Lux's lives. They have become comfortable with the woman after learning that she wasn't anything like what they remembered and deeply regretted the pain she caused. Hiram and Leroy talked about it and decided to try to let that go and begin to know the woman before them now.

So far, so good. They were a little surprised when Rachel told them she had started dating the blonde and worried not only about her daughter, but the repercussions it may have with Lux. They were shocked to learn she was actually their bigger supporter.

"Pretty well." She finally answers, dropping her arm around Rachel's waist, determined to show that she is not in any sense ashamed of her relationship with the brunette or being affectionate with her in public. She just got a little too carried away, intoxicated by Rachel's lips, and would have continued if her father hadn't put a stop to it. "How's it going with you?"

"Well, we just finished a 5k pieces puzzle of the Forbidden City in Beijing and that is the most interesting thing that happened to me this week." He shrugs. "Have you read something good lately?"

Lucy takes a sip from her drink and draws patterns on the patch of bare skin she finds over Rachel's hip. "If you are referring to that new chapter of the book I told you about... not yet." Leroy groans. "The writer did make the modifications I suggested to maintain the suspense even more, but he's blocked. He won't admit it, but he is. I might have to go to New York to kick his ass into action."

Rachel tries to focus on the conversation between Lucy and Leroy. Her Daddy is hilariously invested in this story the blonde told him she was editing. However she can't seem to concentrate at all. She is hypersensitive now and squirms under Lucy's touch. Rachel watches how Lucy bites her lip to suppress her smirk and continues with the patterns.

Judy jumps into the conversation, curious, and Leroy starts recounting the story for her benefit, leaving Lucy free. Rachel stands on her tiptoes to whisper into the blonde's ear. "If you keep doing that, I'm going to start kicking people out and sending the girls to a sleepover."

Lucy chuckles, stopping her movements around Rachel's hips. "We do need to find some alone time. Soon."

Meanwhile, on the other side of the backyard, Lux's opportunity to drag Tasha to a secluded Tasha and question her are ruined when Puck walks by. "My daughter's a rock star!" He exclaims, picking Lux by her middle and up the ground. She squeals and he laughs as he puts him down away from the group. "I'm sorry I couldn't make it to the competition." He says then.

"It's okay. I know the club's biggest days are the weekends and you were open pretty late." She shrugs.

"Well, you guys were amazing. I'm so proud of you."

Lux gives him a weird look. "How do you know...?"

"Lucy sent me the video." At the mention of the woman, both of them search her in between the guests. The finally spot her kissing Rachel just outside the house. "Wow. Hot." He says, smiling. Lux looks back from them and to Puck's grin. She pinches his arm. "Ouch."

"Stop leering at them. That's my mother and my guardian." She reprimands.

"And I'm your father." He says passing his hand over the aching spot. "Are you okay with that though? Doesn't it weird you out?"

"Doesn't it weird you out?" He shakes his head vigorously, still enjoying the sight. She shrugs. "I... I love Rachel. She really cares about me and hers is the first home I have really felt completely comfortable in. And Mom... she is great, better than I ever imagined. She does love me and wants to be in my life. And I want her in my life too." She sighs. "I don't know, it's a stupid delusion. In my mind, it makes sense that if this works, maybe I can have both of them, at the same time, and I don't ever have to choose and disappoint one of them." Puck listens to her closely. "And I can hang out with you over the club any time, right?" She finishes.

Puck smiles and puts his arm around Lux's shoulders. He pulls her towards his chest and kisses her head. "Yes, you better."


End file.
